Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached
by Ten-Faced Paladin
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki thought that the world of the supernatural was now beyond his reach for the rest of his life. He quickly discovers otherwise as he falls face first into the conflicts of the Ganma and the search for the Legendary Hero Eyecons. Well, busting evil spirits is nothing new to him, but does he really need the singing belt?
1. Death is only the Beginning

I do not own Bleach or Kamen Rider Ghost. Those belong to their respective creators and not me. Anyone who does not like this story can go read something elsewhere. Those of you that remain, please enjoy this crossover of the newest Kamen Rider in mine and Chrome's Kamen Rider Crossover series.

 **Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 1: Death is only the Beginning**

"Bast-! OOF!"

The call of a typical thug was cut off by a kick to the face, knocking him back in a groaning heap. His attacker merely considered it a casual move as he sighed, drawing his foot back from the attack. He was dressed in a rather plain gray boys uniform, one for the local high school, Karakura High. His features, although they wouldn't stand out in a western place, certainly did in the Japanese city. He sported bright orange hair, naturally spiked and a bit shaggy, which easily made him stand out, along with brown eyes. His face, although it could be considered handsome, was etched in a natural scowl as he glared down at the thug, one of several, he had just beaten down.

"Dammit, if you guys make trouble at least do it while I'm working so I can get some extra pay out of it," the teen grumbled, picking up his school bag from where he set it down near a telephone pole and casually strolled away from the scene of the fight he'd won, completely unscathed.

 **Name: Ichigo Kurosaki**

 **Occupation: High School Student/Odd Job Apprentice**

Ichigo didn't really consider himself a bad kid. Yeah, he had a temper but he could be honest with himself about it. If so many people would just stop acting so stupid, he'd be calm a lot more often. He did great in school, being eighteenth out of his year at one point. It was also pretty easy to get along with him, unless you triggered his aforementioned temper by doing some stupid act. Despite this, Ichigo just kept finding himself in situations where he had to step up and kick someone's ass. Why? The first reason was because of his hair. Because his hair was naturally orange (and he had his birth certificate on hand to confirm it) a lot of local thugs figured he was a thug too and believed picking a fight with him would give them some street credit. He'd kick their asses of course, but it didn't give him that great of a reputation with his school or many of his fellow students. His other reason for kicking ass was because there were people out there who needed help or just because certain people needed an ass kicking to knock some sense into them.

A somewhat exciting life for a student, right? Well for Ichigo, the world was just dull and gray. It was always that way since three months ago.

For the longest time, Ichigo could see ghosts. See them, touch them, and sense them. One hell of a trifecta. He'd been able to do it as long as he could remember. In turn, those ghosts would latch onto him for whatever reason, thinking that he'd be able to help them cross over. He'd lend a hand so long as they weren't assholes and for a long time Ichigo figured he'd gotten a good look into the nature of the afterlife with how often he'd come into contact with ghosts.

Oh boy, how wrong he had been.

It all began when he'd met his first Shinigami, the entities who escorted souls of the dead into Seireitei, or Soul Society, whichever you were partial to. Her name was Rukia Kuchiki, a somewhat short girl but she was at least nice, if not grating on Ichigo's nerves. During his meeting with her though, he discovered the less pleasant side of the afterlife he'd never known existed: Hollows.

Hollows were souls of people who had passed away. Unfortunately, they had remained in the human world for too long and became warped. They transformed into misshapen monsters wearing bone white masks and had glaring holes in their chests. They had limited intelligence and were consumed with the desire to consume more souls to fill that hole in their hearts. Incidentally, their favorite type of soul to snack on were the spiritually aware kind.

Souls like Ichigo's.

Rukia had been hunting Hollows on the orders of her superiors and Ichigo's powerful abilities may as well have been a buffet for the one that tracked him down. It smashed into his house and attempted to devour him and his family. Fortunately, Rukia defended them, but she had been wounded in the process. So to save all their lives, Ichigo allowed Rukia to transfer her powers to him, giving him the abilities of a Shinigami, including the ability to exercise lingering spirits and exterminate Hollows.

Life hadn't been the same since.

He'd had some struggles along the way, learning the ins and outs of being a Substitute Shinigami. Then there were issues with the Hollows and his friends getting involved in it all. Either they had powers of their own which allowed them to fight off the Hollows, or thanks to his own overwhelming spiritual power, developed abilities of their own. It was crazy and Ichigo regretted dragging them into his world at times, but he really wouldn't change a thing.

Then Rukia's superiors came looking for her and forcibly brought her back to Seireitei as a criminal since giving someone Shinigami powers was taboo. A crime she was going to be executed for. Ichigo and his friends wouldn't allow it and they stormed Seireitei, fighting the best Shinigami there to get to Rukia. It was crazy and Ichigo nearly died a few times and was forced to unlock a new level of power in the process. Still, in the end they managed it although they quickly learned that the whole conflict had been organized by someone else all for the sake of their ambitions.

Sosuke Aizen, one of the captains in the Gotei 13, the Shinigami military organization. He played the part of the kind captain and even faked his own death to remove suspicion from himself. Then when the moment was right, he inserted himself into the fray, removing something Rukia had hidden inside of her called the Hogyoku, a device which could crumble the limitations on things. Aizen stole it, taking himself and his comrades Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen to Hueco Mundo, the world of the Hollows. There he began creating his army of Hollow/Shinigami hybrids called Arrancar, led by the most powerful of them, the Espada. It was Aizen's plan to destroy Karakura so he could harvest the souls and create a special key which he could use to enter the castle of the Shinigami King and take the throne by force, thus rendering reality under his control.

In a battle called the Winter War, Shinigami and Arrancar fought with Ichigo taking on Aizen himself. However, Aizen had implanted the Hogyoku inside himself and was constantly evolving to become more powerful than before. So with no choice, Ichigo executed an attack which although it defeated Aizen, allowing him to be captured, cost the teen his spiritual abilities. He no longer had the ability to see ghosts, assume his Shinigami form, or even fight Hollows. The adventure of a lifetime many had dreamed of was over and Ichigo was forced to return to his ordinary life.

Ichigo sighed, remembering those times as he walked. He didn't regret the sacrifice he made. He'd do it again in a heartbeat if he had to. Aizen had to be stopped and there was just no other way. No, what Ichigo did regret was not being able to see the vast majority of the friends and amazing people he'd met again. Shinigami didn't have physical bodies of their own. They were spirits and only the spiritually aware could see them. Something Ichigo didn't have anymore.

Sure, he could still hang out with his living friends, but it felt to him like there was a wall between them now. They were still spiritually aware, could still defend their town from things like the Hollows, could still meet their friends from Seireitei. Ichigo would feel a pang every time one of his friends would make a hasty excuse in class and suddenly leave, no doubt having gotten a notice about a nearby Hollow that needed exterminating.

Dammit, as insane, deadly, and terrifying as those days were…Ichigo found himself missing them. The days when he felt like he had a purpose, like what he was doing mattered. Now he was just back to the daily grind and wondering if his purpose in life was already finished.

Tossing those regretful thoughts aside, Ichigo reached his home, the familiar Kurosaki Clinic which his father worked out of and where his family lived in the back. Reaching the family side, he slid open the front door, opening his mouth for a greeting, "I'm…"

"IIIIIICHIGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Where he got met with a flying kick to the face, knocking him back. Recovering quite nicely and not looking the worse for wear, Ichigo got to his feet, his scowl even deeper at he stared at his attacker. He was a man in his forties to fifties with black hair and had a light beard on his face. His eyes were narrowed in parental fury and standing above the crouched Ichigo with nothing but supreme confidence in his own fatherly strength.

Yes, this was Ichigo's father, Isshin Kurosaki.

"What the hell was that for you old goat?!" Ichigo demanded hotly, getting up in his old man's face.

"You're late! That's what!" Isshin snapped back. "Like I always say, the rules of this house are like iron! You break 'em then you gotta bleed! Dinner began ten minutes ago but Yuzu wouldn't serve it until you got home!"

"Sue me! I got jumped by some thugs on the way home and this is how you greet me?" Ichigo growled.

"Bah! You've gotten weak in your downtime!" Isshin scoffed. "With all the training I've given you, you could handle a hundred thugs with your eyes closed! You've gotten soft!"

"The hell I have!" Ichigo yelled back.

"Ha! A future victory for me!" Isshin snapped back, rearing back his fist.

Father and son began throwing punches at each other, erupting in a dust cloud of punches and kicks. One may have become concerned, but anyone who knew them knew that this was how Ichigo and Isshin interacted with each other. They couldn't tell you _why_ the father and son acted that way. Ichigo sure couldn't and he had given up trying to find a reason ages ago. Isshin would just proclaim 'it's obvious' as if expecting the one asking him to know the answer already. No one did. Still, it was how the dysfunctional family worked and worked it did. Ichigo wouldn't be half as tough without having Isshin jump him at all hours…not that he'd admit it.

"Come on you guys," a girl spoke from the kitchen. "Can't you lay off once?"

"Ah leave them be Yuzu. More for us."

The two that spoke were two girls who were the same age, likely getting ready to begin middle school. The girl who first spoke was armed with a spatula and frying pan. She had blonde hair which was done into pigtails that hung down her front. She wore a simple skirt and sleeveless hoodie as she watched father and son brawl ridiculously. She was Yuzu Kurosaki, Ichigo's younger sister.

The other girl had black hair which hung to her jaw, some tied back in a ponytail for style. She wasn't nearly as girly with a bored face and wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Unlike Yuzu, she was taking an apathetic view of the entire battle, having seen it hundreds of times before. Unless Ichigo was really out of it, she already knew who was going to win. Her name was Karin Kurosaki, Yuzu's twin sister and likewise Ichigo's other younger sibling.

*WHAM!*

"And there it is," Karin nodded, not even looking as Ichigo came to the table, grumbling to himself. Behind him, out cold with birdies flying around his head was Isshin, dead to the world. "So how many this time Ichi-nii?"

"Fifteen or so," Ichigo huffed. "Since I started the job, jerks just have more reasons to come after me."

To give himself something to do and get some cash, Ichigo had taken up a job at a local shop which did odd jobs around the district. The shop owner was a tough woman, but she was an okay sort. The store was her only source of income and she had a kid to support so Ichigo had no qualms about being on call practically all the time, even if the woman could piss him off sometimes with the double standard she had when her son was around. Unfortunately, the local thugs who'd harass the place now and then just had a new reason to pick fights with Ichigo since the woman had kicked their asses just to make sure he was there to do his job.

"That's tough," Karin commented. "You'd think they'd have learnt not to mess with the toughest guy in town by now."

"Ah there's always some new hotshot thinking he's awesome or something," Ichigo shrugged as Yuzu happily passed around plates of dinner, even if her father was out cold a few feet away. She'd save him some once he regained consciousness. "So how was your day?"

"No complaints," Karin shrugged.

"Great!" Yuzu beamed. "Don't forget to eat up everyone! We have a big day tomorrow."

"Right…" Ichigo nodded. "That day already?"

"Yep," Karin nodded. "Time sure flies huh?"

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded. "A lot sure has happened since."

"No kidding," the dark-haired girl nodded.

The day the trio were talking about was the anniversary of the death of Masaki Kurosaki, the mother of Ichigo, Yuzu, and Karin. She had been a wonderful woman and Ichigo felt no shame in admitting that he was a total mama's boy while she was around. Sadly, she died a tragic death. Officially, it was reported as some kind of tragic accident. Unofficially, no one had a clue as to what happened…but Ichigo did. On the way home with her, he had spotted what he thought was the ghost of a girl. Thinking she was in trouble, he went to go help her. His mother tried to stop him. The next thing he remembered was that she was dead and her body was covering his protectively from whatever had attacked them.

For years Ichigo blamed himself for it, even if his sisters didn't and his father couldn't even entertain the thought. After he became a Shinigami though, he had discovered the truth. The 'girl' he saw was in fact a lure connected to a particularly infamous Hollow named Grand Fisher. He had shown up in the very cemetery where Masaki's memorial was and had tried to eat Yuzu and Karin. Ichigo promptly fought him and managed to wound him pretty fiercely, but the Hollow still managed to slip away. He later returned as an Arrancar, having joined up with Aizen, but it was Isshin who was secretly a Shinigami himself who managed to cut down the monster with one swipe. Ichigo was glad his mother was avenged, although he hadn't learnt about that until after the Winter War. If there was one person who deserved to take down that particular Hollow more than him, it was definitely his father.

Still, knowing that his mother was avenged was…liberating. Ichigo didn't feel the guilt or the pressure on his shoulders anymore. He now knew he didn't cause the accident, but he and his mother were made to be victims of a malicious Hollow. Now that Hollow was dead and Ichigo knew he could move on. He felt confident that this year, he could feel relief at his mother's memorial and simply enjoy remembering the wonderful woman that she was instead of feeling like he robbed his family of her love.

Maybe this year he could leave with a smile on his lips.

* * *

June 17th arrived and the Kurosaki Clan did their usual trip up the hillside towards the cemetery. It was a bit of a hike, but Ichigo and Karin certainly didn't mind it. They were the active ones in the family so such a hike wasn't much of a problem. Yuzu would huff a little, but she wouldn't complain. Although it wasn't in her nature to complain, even a stray comment would get their father into one of his excitable rants of 'inspiration' which would likely just get Ichigo or Karin to belt him one and send him tumbling down the hillside again.

They reached the cemetery without incident, although that came from years of experience with ignoring Isshin and his usual antics. Ichigo usually would have slouched while he walked or would be the last in the group at the back, but not this year. He was in front of the grave with his sisters as the incense was lit and offering up a prayer next to Karin and Yuzu.

' _Hey Mom,_ ' he thought in his prayer. ' _How are you now that you're finally in Soul Society? I'd go visit or something, but with what happened to my powers and fighting Aizen, that really isn't an option anymore. Still, I guess I can stop blaming myself now that I know what happened and Dad managed to cut down the bastard who did it. I know you'd never blame me for what happened that day seven years ago, but I still want to say I'm sorry. I know you'd probably already forgiven me for it, even if you'd scold me, but I just have to say it anyway._ ' He paused for a moment, not really sure what else to say. ' _Well, if you manage to meet some of the friends I made like Rukia and Renji, stick close to them. They won't steer you wrong. I know Soul Society isn't exactly the most peaceful place out there, never mind what's been going on since the end of the Winter War_.'

Clapping his hands, Ichigo stepped back as he waited for his sisters to finish up. He actually did feel lighter now that he knew the whole deal, but it didn't mean that he still wished it hadn't happened. One would have to be pretty messed up in order to wish for a parent to be dead. Still, at least he didn't have the crushing guilt of her death on his shoulders anymore. He ended those thoughts as he heard Karin and Yuzu finish their own prayers. No point brooding over guilt he didn't need to hold anymore…

"Okay! Time for the Kurosaki Family's annual Tombstone Domino Tournament! Two and a half hours of embarrassing family fun!" Isshin suddenly cheered, suddenly breaking out into squats for some reason. Karin and Ichigo's faces turned to deadpan stares, not that Isshin took note. "The first round is me vs. Ichigo! The loser becomes the winner's slave for a week! Let's go! Bwa ha ha ha!" With that menacing laugh, Isshin took off running between the graves to find a spot to begin his domino chain.

"Dad! No!" Yuzu gasped, giving chase. "The priest will kick us out!"

"He tries…he really does," Karin huffed. "I'll take care of it this time. I need the practice anyway."

"Right. I'll go apologize to the monk…again," Ichigo muttered, turning to head down the path to the centre of the cemetery where the local shrine was erected.

Trotting up several stairs, Ichigo came to the main shrine. It wasn't huge, but it was sizable enough for the purpose of the cemetery. The one lone monk who lived there certainly didn't seem to mind, although he was probably the only guy in all of Karakura who didn't have to worry about some of the local punks when they got rowdy. No one but a real asshole would try to mess with a priest. Even the local thugs had their limits. It was signs like that which gave Ichigo some hope for humanity, but not enough for him to stop kicking their asses when they tried to pick a fight with him.

Coming to the shrine proper, he saw the priest sweeping the main walk. He was ordinary enough and of course shaved bald like many of his faith would be. Fortunately, some gray clouds were rolling in so the sun wasn't gleaming off of his head like it normally would. That was a real strain on the eyes.

As Ichigo approached, the man noticed and stood up, showing his squinting eyes and friendly face, "Ah, Kurosaki-kun. Welcome. Is your father off making a ruckus again?"'

"Yeah, trying for Tombstone Dominoes again. Karin went to shut him down and it was my turn to apologize for the noise this year," Ichigo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "So, sorry about the noise Omoi-san."

"Ah ha ha ha," the priest laughed. "It's quite alright. We all deal with this sort of thing in our own way. For your father, utter ridiculousness so his children have a reason to a smile, or simply not cry."

"Smile, right," Ichigo grimaced. Smiling was not the first thing on his mind when he thought of his dad.

His thoughts were cut off as Omoi spoke up, "If I may be so bold to say though Kurosaki-kun, your spiritual presence does not seem to be as pronounced as it was the previous year. In fact, I noticed you coming with my eyes instead of feeling you approach a mile away with my senses like I usually do. Did something happen?"

Ichigo flinched, but recovered quickly, "Yeah…yeah, I guess you can say that. Call it dealing with a particularly nasty ghost. Drained my powers and I don't know if they'll ever come back again."

Omoi nodded. He knew Ichigo could see spirits and would interact with them in order to help them find peace and hopefully be able to move on. He wasn't surprised that the boy tackled a particularly nasty one. "Ah. I see. I've heard of this happening," Ichigo perked up slightly. "The spirit in questioned required all of your power to subdue and exhausted it. It has happened to other priests which I met or have contact with if they had to work a particularly gruelling exorcism which was supposedly beyond their abilities."

"Any chance of it coming back?" asked Ichigo, although he remembered Zangetsu's explanation into what had happened.

"It varies. Sometimes it does, others it could take months to years for their abilities to return. Sometimes it may not come back at all. There is really no standard cure for such an affliction. Everyone recovers at their own pace," Omoi answered, causing Ichigo to slump slightly. The priest gazed at him in thought for a moment before he spoke up, "Although, there is something you might be interested in."

"Really?" Ichigo blinked.

"Yes, follow me," Omoi gestured. The two entered the small shrine, little more than a place of worship with a small living space in the back for Omoi to stay during his tenure at the shrine. He moved to the back, leaving Ichigo in the main worship area for a moment before he returned. He was carrying a small wooden box with him. Coming up to Ichigo, he explained, "This was sent to the shrine by an anonymous person a few weeks ago. Instructions with it insisted that the most powerful warding charms be placed around it so it won't attract spirits. When I held it, I felt my own spiritual powers increase. I have no need for such a thing, but perhaps holding onto it will help your own powers return."

"Really?" Ichigo asked, shocked. Although perhaps a bit cynical, he did feel hope bubble in his chest. Opening the box, he blinked at the item inside. For all intents and purposes, it looked like a plastic eyeball with some kind of plastic casing around it. Before his Shinigami exploits, Ichigo would have thought Omoi was trying to rip him off. After seeing how some small innocent things could in fact unleash total hell on their surroundings, he knew better than to disregard the tiny object. Wary, he picked up the eye-like device.

Suddenly, a rush passed through Ichigo's body. He could feel that _something_ had changed, something wasn't the same as it had been before. Looking around, he had hoped to see some ghosts wandering about, but he already knew ghosts didn't like to hang around cemeteries. They hated being reminded that they were dead so they would go someplace which had an emotional significance to them. Still, Ichigo could just feel that the small trinket had done something to him while he was holding it.

"It…it's doing _something,_ " Ichigo admitted. Setting the device in the box, the feeling left him and he frowned, "But it only seems to work so long as I'm holding the thing."

"Then keep it," Omoi shrugged. "You need it more than I do. Keep it until your powers return."

"Really?" Ichigo blinked. Seeing the priest nod he scooped up the trinket again, feeling the rush of spiritual power return. "Thanks!"

Pocketing the trinket, Ichigo said his goodbyes to the priest before heading out to find his father and sisters. Hopefully Karin managed to stop him before he did anything too stupid.

He wasn't holding out much hope though.

* * *

Karin heaved a sigh as she sat next to Yuzu. Dealing with Isshin had been easy enough. One swift kick to the back and he was tumbling down the hill with cries of 'Big Daddy One is down!' among a few cries of pain as he bounced off some of the hillside memorial stones in his way. He'd be back on his feet soon enough. The man had an incredible tolerance for pain and physical injury. So Karin decided to take a seat next to Yuzu on one of the stone steps. Sure enough, Yuzu got to thinking about what few memories they had of their mother and she began to sniffle. Every year she'd cry, but Karin had to admit it was taking her longer to break down. So…progress at least.

"Come on, no tears this time," Karin tried to console her sister.

"Sorry," Yuzu sniffled, wiping her eyes. "I can't help it."

"Well, you're getting better," Karin tried to offer. "So we're making progress. Maybe next year."

"*sniff*…maybe." Yuzu tried to smile.

Leaning back, Karin just looked around the cemetery, feeling a bit of déjà vu. Last year she and her sister were in the same position, but then her memory got a little hazy. She didn't really try to pursue the thought though. She knew ghosts were involved somehow and her brother pulled her fat out of the fire. She had pieced together that her brother had gotten strange powers and was fighting evil spirits, protecting everyone in Karakura. There was a lot she still didn't know, but she was still holding over in her denial of it all so she didn't bother to ask. She'd get the story when she was ready for it.

" _Mmmmnnnn_ …."

Karin blinked at the sound of the groan. Looking around, she spotted a figure moving through the rows of graves. Although it was only a short distance away, she was having trouble seeing the one making the noise. She could only see a mass of black in a vaguely humanoid shape. It was stumbling around like it was in a daze. Karin's eyes further widened when she saw it pass _through_ several tombstones as it walked in the direction of the shrine.

"No way…" Karin gaped.

" _Mn?_ " the spirit twitched, no doubt hearing her and turned to face her. A pair of sinister blue eyes flashed in the darkness as it stared at her. " _You can see me. Do you have the Eyecon we were sent for?_ " It changed course and began walking towards the sisters. Karin paled as now that it was paying attention to her, she could feel malice coming off of it in waves. Whatever it was, it had no qualms about hurting her or Yuzu to get to it.

"Karin?" asked Yuzu, wiping her eyes. "What's wrong."

" _Give me the Eyecon!_ " the spirit demanded, reaching out to Karin and sounding none too patient.

And Karin did something out of sheer reflex which she swore she would never do again since her kiddie days.

"ICHI-NIIIIII!"

* * *

"ICHI-NIIIIIII!"

Karin's voice shot through Ichigo like a bullet and he felt fear spike into his heart. Turning in the direction of the cry, he took off running right towards it. Dashing around some sparse memorial stones and even hopping over a few in the process, he raced like lives were at stake. He actually feared that lives really were on the line since he couldn't remember the last time he had heard Karin scream over anything. Cheer, yes. Shout, plenty of times. To hear her actually scream? Never. That made it all the more important that he found her. It was actually giving him flashbacks to the previous year where Grand Fisher had lured his sisters in close and attempted to eat them.

Last year he had his Shinigami powers to fight the monster. This time, he only had himself.

"Karin! Yuzu!" Ichigo shouted, dashing along the path. He finally spied his sisters at some stairs and he quickly ran to their side. "What's wrong?"

Karin pointed out along the tombstones, "That!"

Ichigo turned gaped at the strange spirit stalking towards him. It looked rather…plain, like some kind of costumed weirdo. If it weren't for the fact that he could see it passing through the tombstones like a ghost, he would have thought he was looking at some kind of costumed kook. Its body was entirely black like solid darkness. Its hands and feet were covered in silver gloves and boots, the most mundane part of its outfit. Around its waist was an belt with a red-iris eye in the centre which Ichigo couldn't be sure was an accessory and not an actual eye. When it blinked, he got that confirmation. Its chest was patterned with white rib-like markings while similar bone markings were on its shoulders. Its face was just as black as its body with two large blue eyes and a golden spirit flame marking its forehead. It glanced at Ichigo, but when it did it took note of how he could see it.

"Give me the Eyecon," it moaned in a ghostly voice, holding out an outstretched hand. "I don't care who has it. I will take it."

"Eyecon?" Ichigo blinked, but then his eyes widened when he realized what the monster was talking about. Fishing the device out of his pocket, he heard the monster inhale sharply at the sight of it.

Many may have felt intense fear at seeing such a creature and flipped out, tossing the trinket away in a bid to save themselves. Not Ichigo. He wasn't naïve in the ways of spirits nor was he afraid of them. While he had never seen such a spirit before, he did know a good one from a bad one. The thing in front of him was giving off nothing but bad vibes and if it got its hands on whatever the small eye-like trinket was, it would spell bad news for just about everyone. He could already tell that it was powerful since just by holding it, he had been able to see spirits again.

"No way," Ichigo frowned, clutching the trinket tightly and hiding it in his pocket.

"Hn," The creature huffed. It came to a stop next to an older memorial stone, one which looked like a simple slab of stone with a name on it. Looking at the stone, the creature dropped to its knees before hugging the stone. At first the action confused Ichigo, but then he gasped when the stone and creature flashed with blue fire before the stone vanished and the creature seemed to transform. The body of the creature was covered in stone slabs with memorial prayer kanji carved into them, constructed together like a crude mix of samurai armor and football equipment. Its hands and feet became covered in slabs of stone in a crude rendition of gloves and boots with the symbol Aku on the backs of the hands. Its arms looked like they had been layered with memorial tablets, making armored sleeves. The creature's head appeared to be covered in prayer tablets and pieces of them, looking like a football helmet with a grille across the mouth area and the spirit's eyes shining from the visor area. Perhaps what seemed almost mocking was the large incense sticks rising from the monster's back, smoking with some rancid scent, but still smelled like pure evil. What remained the same was the eye buckle which blinked before narrowing dangerously on Ichigo and the trinket in his hand.

"Then I will take it!" the tombstone-based monster snarled before charging at Ichigo in a full football tackle style. Ichigo narrowed his eyes. Although as a normal human his body wasn't as powerful as it had been during his Shinigami days, he certainly hadn't lost any of the reflexes or skills he had developed during that time. Timing the charge right, he dodged out of the way, letting the monster miss him completely, although it crashed against some of the memorial stones, crushing them into rubble.

"Damn. You can do that too," Ichigo scowled. He had partially hoped that since the creature was a spirit, it wouldn't be able to affect the world of the living. A faint hope, but it was one that the orange-haired boy had clung to. Sadly, it seemed like Hollows, Shinigami, and certain regular spirits, the new one seemed just as capable of affecting objects in the real world as it desired. No doubt it could also grind him into paste if it managed to get its hands on him. Remembering his sisters were nearby, he looked to them. Karin's eyes were on the monster, but Yuzu with her limited spiritual ability couldn't see it at all, "Karin, Yuzu, run! Just run and don't look back!"

"But Ichi-nii!" Karin gaped.

"Go!" Ichigo barked loudly.

"HRN!" the tombstone ghost snorted, turning around and preparing for another charge.

As Ichigo faced off against his new supernatural opponent, he didn't notice another of the monsters walking through the cemetery. It looked exactly like the one Ichigo was fighting before it got its sudden outfit change. It watched the fight, gazing at Ichigo and the small device securely gripped in his hand. After a moment of watching the fight, or rather game of cat and mouse, the spirit began looking around for something, anything it could use to grow stronger. Looking around, it spied another memorial stone which had small mementoes from a mourner next to a bundle of flowers and a photo. Of all things, the item was a kunai. A dulled one meant for show, a piece meant to be bragged about but never used, but it was still a real kunai.

"Hmmm," the spirit grunted and walked to the grave before scooping up the weapon showpiece. Holding it, the creature jabbed itself in the chest. Blue fire burst from the impact point as the kunai vanished. It spread over the spirit's form, adorning it in a new outfit, affording it new powers.

Its torso became covered in a white haori with fishnets underneath. Its shoulders were covered in metal caps while more metallic fishnets ran down its arms in a silver mesh. Lastly its arms were covered in metal bracers with black hands. Around its waist was the eye buckle like its comrade while its legs remained the same with metal boots. Its face remained unchanged, although it wore a metal forehead protector on its head with a white hood trailing down, concealing the rest of its head. Resting on its back were four large kunai in a star formation with their points facing outwards. Transformation complete, it hopped onto a taller memorial stone overlooking the confrontation between the human boy and its comrade.

"So _he_ has the Eyecon," the spirit pondered. He didn't want to give it up though. Well, it didn't matter. Reaching behind his back, he removed two of the giant kunai and lifted them up like swords. With another leap, he shot through the air like a blur towards the battle.

Karin grimaced as she and Yuzu backed away from the fight, feeling more than a little helpless at what was happening. Yuzu felt even more so since she couldn't even see what was happening. Karin gritted her teeth, both afraid and angry at what was happening and how she couldn't do anything. As they backed away, she spotted a white and silver blur moving towards the fight.

Realizing it was coming at her brother, she let out another cry, "Ichi-nii, look out!"

"Huh?" Ichigo looked over his shoulder, but his vision was filled up with the form of another blue-eyed spirit before twin implements were suddenly stabbed through his back, coming out of his front. "GCK!"

"ICHI-NII!" Karin and Yuzu screamed in horror, seeing their brother's chest explode in a splash of blood.

"Guh…" Ichigo gasped, struggling to breathe before the large kunai were tugged out of his chest.

"Your fault for not just giving us the Eyecon," the new spirit muttered as Ichigo's vision began to go dark.

The monster unceremoniously kicked Ichigo down, letting him collapse to the ground in a heap. He wheezed, feeling the last of his breath leave as he tried to will his body to move. Inside, his mind was strictly focused on Karin and Yuzu, watching them scream in horror although he couldn't hear it. As his vision died down, he still felt the Eyecon in his hand still warm from his body heat.

As everything faded from sensation, his last remaining thought was, " _Rukia…Renji…someone, help them…_ "

" **ICHI-NIIIIIIIIII!** "

* * *

Ichigo suddenly found himself underwater. Struggling for breath, he swam up towards what the thought the surface was. Fortunately, he broke through the surface with a gasp before coughing and wheezing for breath. Wiping the water and his hair from his eyes, he quickly began taking in his surroundings. Looking around, he found himself in some kind of grotto and he was standing in a spring with a simple waterfall behind him. All around him was natural beauty and plant life.

"The hell?" Ichigo asked, utterly confused. Looking down at himself, he was surprised to find that he didn't have a Soul Chain, a bond most ghosts had to the world of the living. Removing it meant they'd become a Hollow, but he didn't have one. Did it mean he immediately went to Soul Society? It wasn't any part that he recognized.

" _ **ICHI-NIIIIIIIIII!**_ "

Ichigo looked up and his eyes widened as inside some dark cloud was a bird's eye view of the graveyard. His sisters were off at one end while the two spirits that had attacked him were looking over his body as if admiring their handiwork. The growing pool of blood and the holes in his back certainly showed that his body was dead.

"Karin! Yuzu!" Ichigo cried out. The cloud rumbled and began to fade away, taking the vision with it, "Wait! I'm not dead yet! Let me go back!"

"Sorry! Can't do that yet!"

Ichigo blinked and turned before a flash of golden light blinded him. Grimacing, he shielded his eyes as the light continued to pester him for a moment. Thankfully it quickly died down and he could see who had spoken. Standing up at the top of the waterfall was a jolly older man with white hair and dressed in rather extravagant gold, white, and red robes. In his hand was a simple walking cane although he didn't seem to need it. He sported a salt and pepper beard while he had white hair which reached to his shoulders.

"Hello there!" the man smiled. Another flash of light nearly blinded Ichigo and he was suddenly on the shore of white stones in front of the teen. "Welcome!"

Ichigo blinked, but shook his head, "Whatever. Where am I? Are you a Shinigami from Soul Society?"

"Nope!" the man shook his head. "Why don't you step out of the water. You'll be less soggy that way!"

Ichigo obliged, but he wasn't going to be distracted, "Okay, so just who are you? Where am I if this isn't Soul Society? I died didn't I?"

"You sure did!" the man beamed. "Well, I am simply known as the Sage. So call me that. As to why you're here, well, call it Limbo. Your body obviously now is dead, but your soul refuses to cross with how your heart lingers in fear for your little sisters!"

"Okay…" Ichigo scowled. Limbo, right. He could deal with that. Still, there was apparently a lot of things going on he had no clue about. "So what the hell were those things that attacked me and my sisters? Those weren't Hollows."

"Ah, those were Ganma," the Sage answered, strolling along the clearing as if taking a daytime walk. "Nasty little spirits who are on the hunt for Eyecons, hoping to use their power to open up portals to their realm and let out more of their kin into the living world."

"Okay, so what's an Eyecon?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, look in your pocket first," the Sage replied. The irate teen did so and found the eye-shaped trinket. However, it had changed from when he last saw it. No longer all white, instead the casing around the eye-like part had turned pitch black. Frowning, Ichigo looked to Sage, "Your soul is now inside that Eyecon. It's why you're here in Limbo instead of hovering around as a disembodied spirit waiting for Soul Society. The Ganma are going to want it since your natural power is certainly strong enough for their tastes. It just might match the Legendary Souls they usually hunt for."

"Legendary Souls?" asked Ichigo, feeling like he was getting the runaround. "Why would they want those?"

"Simple!" the Sage grinned. "Those Eyecons when they're brought together can unlock the power to do anything! All you need is fifteen of them and any wish can be granted! Even…coming back to life!"

"What?" Ichigo gaped. "These things are that powerful?"

"Only if they have the soul of a legendary hero inside, although you might be an exception, which is why that Eyecon reacted to you," the Sage shrugged.

"Okay, fine, but how does this help my sisters _now?!_ " asked Ichigo. "Those Ganma things are right next to them and might try to hurt them!"

The Sage nodded, "Well then you're going to need the power of Ghost to go back and fight them, won't you?" the Sage grinned. Twirling his hand, he pointed it at Ichigo's waist where a flash of light shone. Ichigo yelped before the light solidified into a belt. The front looked like semi-clear plastic which in the centre looked like a closed eye of some sort. Underneath was the vague image of some kind of machinery. On the right side was a black handle with an orange centre.

"What the hell is this?!" Ichigo cried, looking up from the device.

" _It's what you need to become Ghost, stupid!_ "

"Oi!" Ichigo whirled around with a scowl, looking for whoever talked smack about him. Another flash of orange appeared in the air before a tiny ghost appeared in the air. It seemed relatively the same size as Kon, the Mod Soul Ichigo kept at home from his Shinigami days, with an orange phantom-like body and a trailing white cape. Its head was just a round ball with a big eye in the centre with a creepy and toothy grin just underneath of it.

"That's Yurusen," the Sage explained with a grin. "He'll explain the finer details with you."

"That's Yurusen- _sama_ to you!" the tiny ghost added, shooting down to be face level with Ichigo.

"Right," the teen frowned before abruptly pushing the ghost away, causing it to yelp. "Okay Old Man, so if I want to come back to life I'm going to need to find fifteen of these Eyecons which have Legendary souls in them."

"Yes!" the Sage nodded.

"But to get those Eyecons, I'm going to have to fight through some Ganma who are also looking for them so they can unleash hell on the world or whatever reason," Ichigo continued.

"Yes!" the Sage nodded again. "But you've only got ninety-nine days to do it or else you will die for good!"

Ichigo nodded, but then stopped and gaped at the man, "WHAT?!"

"Now get going!" the Sage bellowed before slamming his hand into Ichigo's chest, causing a flash of light which launched the teenager back into the water with a splash.

* * *

The two Ganma slowly closed in on Ichigo's downed form, eyes trained only on the Eyecon. Before their eyes, it began to shine before the casing around it turned black. Both malicious spirits looked at one another, unsure if it was safe to touch the Eyecon now that there was a soul inside of it. The Tombstone Ganma shrugged to the Kunai Ganma, deciding that some risk was in order and it was the sturdier of the two. So with that in mind, it reached down to reclaim the Eyecon.

"LEAVE ICHI-NII ALONE!"

Both Ganma looked up again to see the black-haired girl running at them, her twin kneeling on the ground behind her, looking quite afraid. The Tombstone Ganma grunted and as the girl got in close enough, he swatted her away with a backhand, "Go away."

Karin was knocked back and landed in a heap, the side of her face reddening from the strike. Yuzu let out a scream and dashed to her sister's side. The Tombstone Ganma got up to deal with the two when the Kunai Ganma grabbed its shoulder, "Nn?"

"Ignore the pests. We have what we came for," the Kunai Ganma spoke. "No sense stomping every worm we see. We'd never get anything done that way.

The Tombstone Ganma laughed, "Heh, you're right about that."

The Kunai Ganma nodded and turned to grab Ichigo's Eyecon when the teen's entire body began to glow. Fearing a trap, both Ganma leaped back, ready for a fight. The teen's body shone with spiritual light and for a moment, they could see Ichigo's soul standing on top of his own body in a golden hue. In the next moment, there was a flash of light and Ichigo's body vanished in a sparkling haze. In its place stood the teen himself, hale and hearty as ever although…

"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu cried, beginning to look around frantically. "Ichi-nii! Where did you go?!"

"What?" Ichigo blinked, looking to his sisters and seeing one down while the other panicking. "Yuzu…"

A pop sounded off and Yurusen appeared in an orange haze, hovering next to Ichigo's head, "You're a ghost now too Berry! She can't see you like you are now!"

"Oi! Watch it!" Ichigo snapped, glaring at the tiny ghost.

"Hee, hee, hee! You've got more important things to worry about. Namely them!" Yurusen laughed before pointing at the two Ganma who were recovering from their shock and getting ready to kill Ichigo all over again.

"…right," the scowling teen grew serious and turned to face the pair. "So how do I use this GhostDriver thing?"

"Just open the top and hit the Eyecon's switch! Then load it inside and shut the Driver and pull the handle once!" Yurusen explained. "And then, HENSHIN!"

"Right," Ichigo nodded, gripping the Eyecon in his hand. The Tombstone Ganma in front of him slowly continued to march towards him, steady and confident like the rock his form was based off of. Behind him, he heard Yuzu trying to wake Karin up from where the spiritual monster had smacked her. Being stone, or at least wearing it, she was knocked out by it. Part of Ichigo wanted to go and tend to his sister, but being in a spectral form, he couldn't do anything to help. The Ganma on the other hand…

"You just made the worst mistake of your life," Ichigo growled, lifting up his personal Eyecon.

"Hm?" the Tombstone Ganma tilted its head. "The Eyecon?

Ichigo didn't reply as he tapped the switch on his Eyecon, causing the pupil to flip over, showing a white letter G in the centre.

" **EYE!** " the GhostDriver let out. Ichigo pushed the front of the device, opening it from the top which revealed a hollow space inside. Getting the gist of it, Ichigo placed the black Eyecon inside the space where it locked into place like a glove. He then slammed the machine shut, causing it to begin speaking again, in song of all things.

" **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA!** "

Ichigo's eye twitched at the rather weird actions of the belt, but he ignored it. Now wasn't the time to lament idiocy. Grabbing the handle on the side, he gave it a yank which caused the eye in the centre of the belt to open up, ending the singing and causing the eye to glow orange.

" **KAIGAN! ORE!** "

The belt flashed before coming out of the eye in the centre came was a black coat-like creature with orange edges and a hood which was up with glowing red eyes and a horn coming from the dark folds. Acting as arms were short belts which hovered around. Ichigo himself flashed with orange energy before he was covered in a black bodysuit with transparent armor protecting his body. Orange geoglyph-like markings which resembled bones flashed onto his arms and legs while in the centre of his chest was a blue eye-like symbol, shining just as bright. His face was covered in a black helmet with a purely blank faceplate which was smooth and reflective in the light with no features.

"The hell?" Ichigo blinked, looking at himself before looking up to the coat/ghost/thing hovering in front of him. Most would have been afraid of it, but Ichigo knew and was experienced with ghosts so the creature didn't scare him. Secondly, he could feel the energy from it. The Parka Ghost was forged from Ichigo's own soul, born from his own power. The Parka Ghost looked at Ichigo, as if making sure he was looking at the same guy before glancing over his shoulder to where Karin and Yuzu were. Its red eyes narrowed at seeing them before looking to Ichigo.

"Let's do this," Ichigo nodded.

The Parka Ghost agreed and dove down at Ichigo before wrapping around him, fitting like a glove. The hood settled over his head and the coat's 'arms' clipped to his shoulders as it settled into place. His faceplate suddenly flipped up, showing a glowing orange expanse with two large black eye with a slightly wavy horn coming from the centre of his forehead. As the coat settled, the GhostDriver spoke up again.

" **LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

Kamen Rider Ghost breathed a sigh as his armor flashed with spiritual orange power. Somehow, although it wasn't the same as being a Shinigami, Ichigo felt a sense of familiarity with his transformation. He was back in familiar territory and he already knew what to do in the situation. Looking across from the two Ganma, he clenched his fists and pulled back his hood before moving into one of his karate stances. One might think his bare handed fighting skills were perhaps rusty, but thanks to fighting gangs every so often, he was as sharp as ever when it came to his bare fists.

"So you've manned up huh?" the Tombstone Ganma mocked. "Well you might last longer than thirty seconds anyway!"

"Try me," Ghost scowled.

"HAH!" the Tombstone Ganma bellowed, charging at Ghost like a demented linebacker. Ghost braced himself and the Ganma crashed into him, pushing Ghost back into a row of tombstones. Fortunately, both were spirits so rather than leaving a trail of destruction, they passed through the memorial stones before they vanished into the woods. Phasing through several trees, Ghost figured they had gone far enough before he slammed his foot into the ground and grabbed the Tombstone Ganma in a hold before he executed an over the shoulder throw, sending the spirit crashing into the ground in a heap.

"That stone's not going to make it easy," Ghost muttered to himself. Looking around, he spied Yurusen humming a tune as he hung in a tree, "Hey! This suit come with a weapon or something?"

"Sure does!" the tiny ghost cackled. He pointed a tendril at the GhostDriver, "HYAH!"

The eye in the centre of the GhostDriver flashed before spectral energy emerged from it, taking the form of a European-style sword. It was mostly black with two razor edges which were a ghostly green/blue on either side of a black centre. The hilt had an eye symbol on it while the handle was orange. This was the weapon with many forms, the Gan Gun Saber. Taking hold of it, Ghost gave it a few swings to test it out. Although the range wasn't what he was used to with his old oversized Zanpakuto, he couldn't complain.

"You're no Zangetsu, but you'll do," Ghost accepted.

A grunt from the Tombstone Ganma alerted Ghost to its return and he prepared himself. It charged in again and once it was in range, Ghost slashed wide with his Gan Gun Saber, cutting a line across the Ganma's chest. It recoiled with a scream, sparks flying where the sword had cut it as it stumbled back. Despite the stone it wore, it obviously wasn't thick enough to stop the strength of a spiritual weapon like it could regular attacks. Ghost didn't let up, striking the Ganma several more times before he launched a kick to its head, knocking it back again. It landed in a heap, smoking from the strikes and groaning.

"Hey, not bad!" Yurusen hovered down to where Ghost stood. "You might have some talent for this!"

"Nah. I just have experience," Ghost shrugged. "But where'd the other one go?"

" _Over here!_ "

Ghost turned but then was assaulted with a rain of kunai which sparked off his armor, knocking him back with a grunt. Shaking his head, he looked up to see the Kunai Ganma kneeling in a tree, several kunai between his fingers as he looked down at Ghost.

The Kunai Ganma spoke, "You've really toughened up. I didn't think even a human with an Eyecon would be able to take on one of us much less two. Your soul must be especially powerful if you can fight like this."

"Why don't you come down and see?" Ghost challenged as he got his footing back. "Or better yet…" Ghost took a running start and leaped up at the Kunai Ganma. Rather than immediately begin coming down, Ghost tried to use a technique he recalled from his Shinigami days. It more or less was to collect his spiritual power, or reiatsu, under his feet and use it to stand in the air. With multiple leaps, he could be miles up in the air. He felt his power pool and suddenly his body flashed orange before Ghost began to feel weightless. Coming up to the Gama, he slashed at it with his sword, but instead of standing on air, he was truly flying as he did so.

"Hmph!" the Ganma snorted, blocking the strike with his own kunai, crossing them to hold the blade. Ghost didn't let it stop him as he kicked off the Ganma's chest, knocking it from the tree as he flew back. The Ganma landed on the ground near its comrade. Stopping his flight, Ghost dove in for another strike. The Kunai Ganma narrowed its eyes and throw another barrage of regular kunai at him, forcing Ghost on the defensive as he tried to slash them out of the air before they could strike him.

That was when the stony bulk of the Tombstone Ganma leaped into his view, crashing into him with a blast of sparks.

"GAH!" Ghost cried, knocked right out of the air where he crashed into a tree. Sliding down to the earth he groaned and shook his head. To add insult to injury, Yurusen shot down with an annoying cackle.

"Bet you're glad you're dead now! Doesn't' stop it from hurting though!"

"Oh shut up," Ghost groaned, forcing himself to his feet. Dammit, he should have been able to take the strike better than that! Maybe he had gotten lax since the end of the Winter War? Looking around, he spotted his sword a few feet away, but the bellow of the Tombstone Ganma alerted him to the incoming monster, ready to crush him under foot. "Crap!"

"Relax! He's open!" Yurusen laughed. "Just pull the handle and activate an Omega Drive attack!"

"Omega Drive?" Ghost frowned, but he quickly obeyed, giving the handle of his GhostDriver a tug.

" **DAIKAIGAN! ORE! OMEGA DRIVE!** "

Ghost's body suddenly exploded with orange spiritual power, forming an arcane eye-like symbol marked with glyphs which sparkled even in the light. The rush reminded Ghost of his old signature attack and he moved to a kick stance. Around him, the orange eye turned to streams of energy which came down to Ghost's right foot, energizing it from knee to sole and causing it to light up in the charged power. The Tombstone Ganma just continued its charge, believing it could take him down in the next strike.

Ghost breathed to collect himself before he lifted into the air with his spiritual power and then launched himself with a burst out of his back, "HAH!" He launched through the air, his glowing foot outstretched. He came bearing down at the charging Ganma, leaving a trail of orange energy as he went. Finally, the two opposing forces met with a crash which sent a shockwave through the air. Ghost kept moving, the Ganma was launched back with a scream of pain.

Ghost skidded to a halt on the grass and looked up as the Tombstone Ganma came down, squirting a black sludge which was likely its blood from its torso as it went. As it hit the ground, it crackled with orange energy and suddenly, the Ganma's armor slipped off and hovered away, leaving the Ganma as it used to be. Suddenly, the Ganma exploded as did the Parka Ghost. Ghost winced and shielded his face before looking to see what had happened. In the blackened spot where the Ganma had landed, there was a cracked tombstone and with it an Eyecon which immediately cracked and shattered.

"Ganma are Eyecons?" asked Ghost.

"Of course! Why do you think they want all of them? To make more Ganma!" Yurusen huffed, hovering in once again.

"I don't believe it." Ghost turned and eyed the approaching Kunai Ganma who had larger versions of his weapons in his hands, wielding them like swords. "It seems you're more than just a pest or some amusement after all. You're a genuine threat. We can't have that."

Ghost faced off against his final opponent, "Then do something about it."

The Kunai Ganma took the invitation and charged at Ghost, weapons raised. The Kamen Rider dipped and dove past his opponent, coming up to where his sword was on the ground and quickly scooped it up. Blocking another strike from the Ganma, he turned it aside before slashing up horizontally, causing a flash of sparks and a spray of black ichor to come from the impact. Ghost followed up, aiming for more damage, but the Ganma was quick to recover and likewise slashed back.

The Ganma was naturally quick, knowing exactly how to use every kunai in its possession perfectly. However, it didn't have _experience_ with the weapons. Granted natural talent, supernatural talent in this case, could cover a lot of ground. Against the average foe, the Ganma perhaps would have had an advantage. However, Ghost wasn't an ordinary foe. He'd gone up against some of the most powerful beings in the supernatural world and had even gone to Hell and back just to make sure the people he cared for were safe. He was perhaps a little rusty after several months of so little action, but that rust was quickly flaking off and his skill was quickly matching the abilities of the Ganma.

"HAH!" Ghost cried, scoring a stab to an opening in the Ganma's defence, knocking it a fair distance back from the force.

"Hey, not bad! Not bad!" Yurusen praised, perched in a tree. "But if you wanna finish him with a sword, you gotta bring the sword and Driver eye to eye!"

Ghost nodded and brought the hilt of his sword down to his belt. From the eye of the Driver came a line of red light which connected to his sword. Immediately the sword began to react.

" **DAIKAIGAN! OMEGA BREAK!** "

Ghost took a stance as orange energy began to pool into his sword. Feeling a bit nostalgic, and familiar, Ghost properly concentrated for a familiar attack which he had used numerous times. The Gan Gun Sabre reacted and seemed to almost explode with more power, causing the weapon to shine. The Kunai Ganma pulled itself up to its feet but then stopped to stare at the power Ghost was bringing from his sword. Ghost himself could feel his face splitting into a grin as the words came to his lips.

" _GETSUGA…TENSHOU!_ "

Ghost slashed, unleashing a wave of orange energy which literally tore through the space between him and the Ganma. The malicious spirit wasn't able to move out of the way fast enough, not that it had enough space to actually move since the attack itself was composed of so much energy. It struck the Ganma head on, causing it to scream as its Ghost Parka slipped away in a blast of black sludge. The spirit exploded, dropping a blank Eyecon which likewise shattered while the Parka Ghost exploded, dropping the dull kunai it was created from.

"Heh!" Ghost smirked, hefting his blade over his shoulder. "I'm back."

"Woah! Way to destroy a cemetery's property!" Yurusen laughed, coming back down to Ghost's side. He admired the destruction consisting of a huge trench and several tree branches being burned away to leave smoking stumps where they used to be. "Hope you don't get cursed for it!"

"Whatever," Ghost shrugged. Stabbing his sword into the ground, he opened the GhostDriver and removed the Eyecon before shutting it again. His entire body and flashed before the armor and his sword vanished in a haze of orange spiritual energy with a calm cry of, " **OYASUMI.** "

"Does it always have to speak up when I do something?" Ichigo sighed, looking at the device wrapped around his waist. "It sounds kind of dorky."

"Eh, roll with it. All Kamen Riders do," Yurusen shrugged.

Tucking the Eyecon into his pocket, Ichigo turned and jogged back in the direction of his sisters. He quickly came back to the spot where they had been and quickly found a scene which was breaking his heart. Yuzu was sobbing over the brown stain of his blood where he had fallen. Karin was behind her, but looked like she wanted to do the same. Instead, she was looking out in case someone came or worse, the monsters came back.

Ichigo only watched, scowling sadly at the sight, "So…am I stuck as a ghost for good now?"

"Nah. You're in a state of limbo," Yurusen answered. "Keep your emotions strong and you can have other people see and even touch you as if you're alive. If you start getting down though, you'll turn into a ghost again and you'll be lucky if anyone sees you."

"Really?" Ichigo blinked, turning to his new companion.

"Yep! But remember," Yurusen leaned in closer to Ichigo, snickering, "You've only got ninety-nine days so you'd better start hunting for those Legendary Hero Eyecons. Once those days are up, you're dead for good!"

"Fair enough," the orange-haired teen nodded. Turning to his sisters again, he focused on his emotions and on keeping them strong. Being an emotional guy, especially his temper, Ichigo could easy keep his emotions hot and high. It showed in his body as the GhostDriver vanished and a haze appeared over him which likewise vanished after a moment on his skin. Feeling himself become…solid, for lack of a better term, Ichigo stepped out of the forest and began running towards his sisters, "Karin! Yuzu!"

Both girls gasped and looked to who had called them, their eyes widening as Ichigo ran towards them, "ICHI-NII!"

Both girls ran at him and were quick to wrap their arms around him in a hug. They weren't the type to do such a thing since they were kids, Karin even less likely than Yuzu, but when seeing their older brother get killed, vanish, and then suddenly return to life, both girls weren't going to hold back in their relief at seeing him.

"We thought you died!" Yuzu sobbed. "There was blood, then you fell, then you vanished!"

"It's okay Yuzu," Ichigo sighed, kneeling slightly so he could hug the both of them. "I'm okay."

"What about those…things?" sniffled Karin, clutching Ichigo just as tightly as her more emotional sister.

"I took care of them. They can't hurt anyone now," Ichigo replied softly. He knew he should explain what happened but…how could he say they watched their brother die and in ninety-nine days he might die all over again? He couldn't lie to them, not now that they had a better idea as to what the spirit world was like. But…he could put it off. Let them get their relief and maybe then he'd explain what happened and what he had to do now.

Unbeknownst to the three, they were being observed. On another hill which gave a good view of the battle stood two observers. One was a young man who for all intents and purposes, looked average. What stood out about him though was the dark clothes he wore and the pale streaks in his black hair. His shirts and pants were all black and he even wore a cloak over his shoulder, making him look especially grim in the cemetery setting. Next to him was an older man who wore glasses, a trench coat, and a fedora hat.

"You didn't mention a meddler," the young man frowned to his companion.

The older man grinned, showing a row of incredibly crooked teeth, "Don't worry Alain. This is just the beginning."

The two didn't share any more words as they left. They had more important things to fume over than just one scheme falling to the wayside. There were more Eyecons out there to claim and to achieve their goals, they needed as many as they could get. After all, Karakura was a big place and there were plenty of other Eyecons out there. One meddler hardly mattered in the long run.

Back with the siblings, Ichigo sighed as he stood up, allowing them to get control of themselves, "Okay, let's grab goat-chin and go home."

"Mn," Both girls nodded, wiping their eyes.

* * *

 **Kurosaki Clinic/Residence**

Ichigo heaved a sigh as he walked back to his room, fresh from a bath. He needed it as his body ached in all too familiar way after the fight with the Ganma. Walking to his desk, he sat down before he looked to where the black trinket sat innocently on the desk. For how harmless it looked though, Ichigo knew he had to keep a close eye on the thing since the Sage said that it contained his soul. Logically, breaking it would be bad and whatever power it had was only good for ninety-nine…ninety-eight more days.

For all the danger he was in though, Ichigo couldn't help but feel…excited? Yes, excited would be the word. A world which he thought closed off to him forever was now open to him again. Granted, the rules were different and he was on a time limit, but he was now back with the vibe on the spiritual world. Suddenly the barrier between him and his friends didn't seem so insurmountable anymore. Still, he was going to get the move on starting tomorrow when it came to hunting down the Eyecons of legendary souls.

"Hey Ichigo!" an annoying voice sounded off, making the orange-haired teen cringe.

The door to Ichigo's room slid open slightly and squeezing through was a small lion-like plushie with a flat head like a sun and an annoyed look on his fuzzy features. He wasn't really a plushie, merely an artificial soul which was inhabiting a plushie. His name was Kon, and ever perverted pain in Ichigo's ass. He was the result of a Soul Society project to make artificial souls to animate dead bodies so they could fight Hollows. However, Soul Society decided that such a project was immoral (odd considering the list of other disgraceful things they allowed) and had the batch destroyed. Kon somehow slipped through the cracks and ended up with Kisuke Urahara who gave him by accident to Rukia so Ichigo could leave his body to do Shinigami duties. Sadly, the perv would take any chance he got to flirt with girls and mess with Ichigo's reputation and was completely unrepentant. So naturally Ichigo kept him on a short leash.

"'Sup Bostov?" Ichigo snarked, glaring at the doll.

"Shut up!" Kon shouted, padding across the room to glare up at Ichigo. "What's this I heard about you dying again? Yuzu was blubbering all about it while writing in her journal. She was rambling about 'eye demons' or something."

"Ganma," Ichigo huffed. "Some weird creeps looking for Eyecons."

"Eyecons?" Kon frowned. "What the heck are those?"

Ichigo opened his mouth to explain, if only because it would shut Kon up, when a familiar orange burst appeared near his head and Yurusen appeared, "You don't need to know!"

"Waugh!" Kon jumped back, gaping at the small ghost. "Holy crap! What the hell are you?!"

"How rude!" Yurusen huffed. "And what are _you_ supposed to be? A stuffed toy?"

Kon began to growl at the obvious insult, "Hey! Don't left the stuffing fool you! I'm a portrait of manliness! The almighty Kon!"

"Heh heh heh! Yeah right," Yurusen chuckled, hovering down to eye-level with Kon. "All I see is a has-been mascot!"

"WHAT?!" Kon growled. "I'll have you know that I am the FACE of this series! _Bleach_ wouldn't be nearly as famous without me!"

"Well this isn't _Bleach_ now is it? It's _Kamen Rider Ghost!_ " Yurusen retorted. "Now get lost has-been!"

"Bah! This takes place in _Bleach_ with only bits and pieces from yours! So you shove off!" Kon retorted, getting in Yurusen's face.

"You wanna go?" Yurusen scowled.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Kon shouted.

Kon leaped at Yurusen and the two began to tussle, rolling across the floor as they swatted at each other. Fortunately, neither were in any condition to do any real damage. Ichigo had long since begun ignoring them, and their conversation, before moving to his books in some vain attempt to get his homework done. He may be in limbo, but he wasn't going to stay there forever. Once he got those Eyecons then things would get back to normal and that meant his schoolwork too.

Even if he didn't like it.

 **99 Days Remain...**

 **To Be Continued…**

 _Next time on Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached_

 _Ichigo: Damn, someone's actually hunting down all the punks in town?_

 _Orihime: Kurosaki-kun!_

 _Uryu: Kurosaki, what are you doing out here?_

 _Chad: …glad to have you back._

 _?: Musashi took on a hundred opponents and so can I!_

 _ **KETTO! ZUBATTO! CHOKENGO!**_

 _ **Next Time: Spirit of the Samurai!**_

 _Yurusen: Please look forward to it!_

* * *

 **CHECK IT OUT! OMAKE CORNER!**

 **PARKA GHOST PARADE!**

 **Ore Damashii**

This is Ghost's default form, the mode he'll start off any fight with unless instinct tells him otherwise. The stats are more or less average, strengthening Ichigo with his own skills and abilities so he can fight off Ganma or any other opponent he might run into. It's unique characteristic is the Ore Parka Ghost, forged from Ichigo's power. Thanks to that, it reflects some of Ichigo's mannerisms such as his protective instincts towards the people that he cares about. Since this is the default form, it doesn't boast a unique weapon, rather it uses the Gan Gun Saber and can configure it into different weapons although Ichigo is most experienced with the basic sword configuration.

 **Gan Gun Saber**

Ghost's primary weapon. In its initial form, it takes the appearance of a double edged sword based more on a European design rather than a Japanese one. However, the sword is able to disassemble and reconfigure into a number of different weapons, among them being twin katanas, a gun, and a naginata. With a few other additions, these weapons can be further modified into even more weapons which can help Ghost fight off the forces of the Ganma. Depending on the Damashii Ghost he is armored with, he gains a different specialization with a different weapon.


	2. Spirit of the Samurai

I do not own Kamen Rider Ghost or Bleach. They belong to their respective creators and not me. If you have any kind of problem with this, then I suggest you go elsewhere for something to read. Likewise, if you find that this fic isn't to your taste. As for everyone else who enjoys a story like this, then please enjoy the newest chapter in the new KR Crossover series.

 **Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 2: Spirit of the Samurai**

 **94 Days Remain...**

Ichigo yawned as he headed downstairs for breakfast. He was feeling tense that morning and it wasn't because of his idiot of a father who tried his usual wakeup tactics of attacking Ichigo in his sleep. The man-child had been thrown out the second story window for that particular stunt. No, Ichigo was feeling tense because of his current situation. It had been five days since he had taken on the Ganma at the cemetery and became Ghost with only ninety-nine days to get fifteen Eyecons containing legendary souls lest he die for good. Five days with absolutely no clues or signs of Ganma and it was making Ichigo antsy.

"Good morning Ichi-nii," Karin nodded as Ichigo entered the kitchen.

"Morning," Ichigo nodded.

"Okay! The Eyecon Search Squad is assembled!" Yuzu announced loudly, dashing to the table with plates of food. "Eat up! We have lots of searching to do today if we're going to find more Eyecons!"

Not for the first time Ichigo regretted telling his family about what had happened to him. The supernatural aspect he didn't mind explaining. They already knew about that so keeping it a secret was kind of moot. No, he regretted telling them about it because of how his life was in danger and how he'd die at the end of those ninety-nine days. Yuzu was off in a frenzy after that, ready to dig up the whole neighbourhood if it meant tracking down the fifteen Eyecons that Ichigo would need to come back to life. Fortunately, Karin was there to keep her in line.

As for Isshin, although he didn't seem to react one way other the other and in fact attacked Ichigo often, 'to whip him back into shape'. Still, Ichigo had little doubt that Isshin had gone and told the resident (formerly) exiled Shinigami Kisuke Urahara and his crew of misfits all about the situation. He had half expected Yoruichi to show up telling him to meet at Kisuke's at some point, but so far he hadn't seen hat nor tail of the duo. Knowing the pair, they were keeping tabs on him to get more data on Ichigo's new abilities as Ghost and activities of the Ganma.

"Good morning everyone!" Yurusen cackled as he popped into existence above the table. Ichigo and Karin both glanced at the ghost, although Yuzu didn't since unlike her siblings, she couldn't quite perceive ghosts just yet.

"Oh, is Yurusen-san here?" asked Yuzu, seeing her siblings look up.

"Yeah. Here," Ichigo sighed, passing his Ore Eyecon over to Yuzu. She grasped it and suddenly could see Yurusen hovering above them all. "Okay, so what's today's 'team meeting' about?"

"Baka! It's about the Legendary Hero Eyecons of course!" Yurusen laughed, causing Ichigo's eye to twitch.

"Yeah, but I have yet heard on how to _find_ one," Karin frowned. "You haven't been clear about that."

"Mou, well since the Ganma aren't hunting them down for us to steal, we'll have to do the legwork ourselves," Yurusen huffed, all but admitting his plan had been to let the Ganma do all the legwork and risk losing the same Eyecons they were after to the enemy spirits. "Okay, listen up! You need three things to bring out a Legendary Hero Eyecon."

"What? What?!" Yuzu asked intently.

"Number one!" Yurusen announced, lifting a tiny arm. "You need an object which is connected to a Legendary Hero. An object which once belonged to them or something like that."

"So, like Musashi's sword or something like that," Ichigo nodded.

"Yes!" the tiny ghost nodded. "Secondly, the object must be in the possession of someone who holds strong emotional bonds with that hero, empowering the object with their energies!"

"And then?" asked Karin.

Yurusen hovered down to the table. Rather than make an announcement, he began helping himself to the food on Ichigo's plate, "I'll tell you when the time comes."

"Oi! Get your own!" Ichigo snapped, grabbing Yurusen by his admittedly big head and throwing him across the room.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

*THUMP!*

Spirit met far wall in an impact before Yurusen slid down in a heap.

"Upside to all this, at least you got your powers back," Karin sighed, massaging her temple. "Feel good?"

"Yeah, but it'd be better if I didn't have this guillotine hanging over my head," Ichigo sighed, sitting back down. "Good with the bad I guess."

Yuzu huffed, but then looked resolute, "Don't worry Ichi-nii! We'll rob a museum if we have to! We'll get those Eyecons for sure!"

"I'd rather avoid that if it is all the same to you," Ichigo deadpanned. "I asked Keigo and Mizuiro if they knew anything weird going on in town. Mizuiro's social network with all the women he seduces ought to pick up something."

"Ick. Why ask them? Why not Chad or Orihime?" asked Karin. Normally she didn't have much of a problem with Ichigo's friends, but Keigo was more or less a doofus. Mizuiro was okay, but he was a serial womanizer even if he only went for women who were older than him. No girl wanted to be around a womanizer unless they were looking for illicit fun.

Ichigo sighed, "They have enough to deal with in Hollows and crap. I don't want to burden them with more unless I have to."

Karin sighed, "Ichi-nii…"

"Anyway," Ichigo took to his food with gusto, "I figure if any Ganma begin hopping around, weird things would happen that people would peg to ghosts or something. Since Ganma aren't crazy like Hollows, it wouldn't be just wanton destruction and all that."

"You would be the expert," Karin nodded. She knew her brother had fought off a lot of monsters, although she herself hadn't fully seen a Hollow before. She just wished her brother wasn't the type of guy who'd just take everything on himself when he didn't have to. She knew a bunch of Ichigo's friends had powers and could fight ghosts. They'd be able to help him fight the Ganma too. Not that he'd listen to her advice on the issue. Ichigo was notoriously stubborn when he felt he was in the right about something.

* * *

 **Elsewhere…**

The lights were off and the blinds were drawn, only giving minimal lighting to the room. Despite this, faint signs could be seen that the location was a dojo. However, any identifying signatures as to which style or who the practitioners were could not be seen in the darkness. The location was still a mystery.

Two figures sat seiza in the middle of the room. One was the Mysterious Man with the crooked teeth who seemed to be experienced in the ways of the Ganma. Across from him was an unknown figure, wearing a full suit of kendo gear, hiding their identity.

"I am glad you decided to accept my offer," the Mysterious Man grinned, showing his crooked smile. Reaching to his side, he opened a briefcase before removing several objects from it. The first was several smooth stones that were the size of a person's palm. The second was a vial of a strange blue liquid which almost seemed to glow even in the darkness. The last was a sheet of paper which had a curious ink drawing of a single ominous eye on it. "With these, your ambition will come true."

The armored figure nodded and accepted the objects as the Mysterious Man passed the objects to his waiting hands.

* * *

 **Karakura High School**

Ichigo yawned as he approached his familiar high school. He was of course in uniform which consisted of a gray jacket and pants with red accenting. He'd done it for a while and admittedly it didn't look anything special. Now that he was back on the ball in terms of the supernatural, it just felt like the outside world was getting more colorful again. That in turn got Ichigo more interested in what was going on around him again.

"What the heck are you doing here?" demanded Yurusen, hovering beside Ichigo's head. As a ghost, he was invisible to the mundane population so no one could see him pestering the orange-haired teen. "Why do you even bother coming here? You should be out on the hunt for Legendary Eyecons!"

"I can't hunt if I don't have a lead," Ichigo muttered, not wanting people to think he was talking to himself. "That's part of why I'm here. To talk to people who have big social networks. Weird gossip travels fast." Ichigo knew that personally since all sorts of gossip about him spread like wildfire when he first came to Karakura High School. Naturally, none of it was good.

"Fine! But get a move on! Ganma could be popping up as we speak!" the tiny ghost huffed before hovering off. Ichigo just shook his head, glad to be rid of the pesky ghost. He was more annoying than Kon since the little runt was invisible to nearly everyone thus could follow Ichigo pretty much anywhere. At least with Kon he could stuff the plushy in a bag somewhere and keep him quiet.

After swapping his shoes, he headed up to his classroom and slid open the door. Stepping inside…

"ICHIGOOOOOO!"

*WHAM!*

Ichigo raised his fist and allowed the student running at him to essentially run into it, eliciting a cracking noise. Ichigo looked to the one who ran at him and gave a greeting, "Hey Keigo."

Sliding off of Ichigo's fist and landing in a heap was the student Keigo Asano. He was rather average in looks and had brown hair which hung normally with some that covered his forehead. Of course, at the moment he had a red mark in the middle of his face which was shaped like Ichigo's fist. However, it was a common occurrence for Keigo to do something stupid and then get himself hurt because of it.

Keigo and Ichigo seemed like unlikely friends. Keigo being something of a goof with a cowardly streak while Ichigo was the school's resident badass and rumored gang leader. Still, Keigo had seen Ichigo's character first hand when they first got to Karakura High. Keigo and his friend Mizuiro got caught in a fight Ichigo and another one of his friends were pulled into. Fortunately, the duo saved the hapless pair and it seemed to forge a friendship between them. Keigo had been annoying Ichigo ever since.

"Been awhile since you pulled that one Keigo," Ichigo commented as he walked past his downed friend. "Got shot down again?"

"No!" Keigo jumped to his feet, looking indignant. "I don't want to hear stuff like that from you Nerdinator! Anyway, I got news on any weird rumors you wanted us to tell you about!"

"Oh yeah?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."

"Right!" Keigo then turned to look at someone else in the room. "Tell the man Mizuiro!"

At a desk near Ichigo's was another young man with straight black hair which covered his ears. Although he was the same age as the other two boys, his slightly shorter stature and looks made him look a little younger. His name was Mizuiro Kojima, obviously another of Ichigo's friends. He was also the resident ladies man, having a huge number of girlfriends, all older than him, who he was constantly going out on dates with. Many assumed they were university girls, but some had their suspicions that some of Mizuiro's girlfriends were even older than that, like adult women or MILF-types. However, Mizuiro wasn't the type to kiss and tell so it was only suspicion.

"Right, right. Morning Ichigo," Mizuiro nodded. Reaching to his cell phone, Mizuiro tapped at a few buttons and brought up a message. "Well, I got this from Megumi-chan. She said lately a lot of gangs have been running through the neighbourhood, hunting for someone who's been beating up their guys."

"For once it's not me," Ichigo huffed. "So what makes this weird?"

"When I said beating up their guys, I mean an obscene number of guys," Mizuiro answered. "Like, fifty to sixty at a time. More than you could take down in a fight by yourself."

"Hm," Ichigo nodded. "Okay. Might be worth looking into. Anything else?"

"Yeah, Megumi-chan saw one fight. It was nuts," Mizuiro answered, scrolling through the message. "The guy was all dressed up in kendo gear and using two shinai. Just crushed fifty-five thugs like he was beating drums. It happened so fast she was sure the guy was like a robot or something with how fast his reflexes were. She's a kendo instructor so she knows what she's talking about."

"Where do you meet these women?" Keigo groaned, already imagining a kendo beauty with barely-there robes concealing her form. "And why can't I meet them too?!"

"You don't have the knack for it," Mizuiro shrugged, making Keigo groan in despair. Ignoring their depressed mutual friend, Mizuiro looked to Ichigo, "Seriously though, is everything okay Ichigo? You just seemed to lose interest in weird stuff since…you know."

Like many of Ichigo's friends, Keigo and Mizuiro developed their own spiritual awareness by hanging around Ichigo and his overwhelming power for so long. They didn't develop the ability to fight Hollows like some of their other friends did, but they did gain the ability to see them and Shinigami. Keigo and Mizuiro had both worked to evacuate their friends during the Winter War, coming face to face with Aizen and managing to stay healthy in the presence of his overwhelming power. Needless to say, Ichigo's secret was out, not that it mattered since he lost his powers soon after.

Ichigo sighed as he sat down, not willing to go into depth but knew his friends would just dig for the truth anyway, "Yeah, yeah something is up. Spirit stuff and all that."

"Figured," Mizuiro nodded, "So why ask us? I mean, shouldn't you ask Uryu, Chad, or Orihime?"

"They have enough to deal with. Hollows and all that," Ichigo answered. "This is something else. Once I get a handle on it, I'll come clean." Ichigo gave a rare smirk, "You guys would just root it out anyway."

"Darn right we would," Mizuiro nodded, grinning back. "And then we'd have Tatsuki kick your ass for it."

"Yeah, she would do that just on principle," Ichigo agreed, knowing his close friend. "Anyway, let me see how this rumor you found turns out and we'll go from there."

"Looking forward to it," Mizuiro nodded. Conversation halted when the teacher, Ochi-sensei, walked into the room.

"Okay everyone, take your seats. Asano-san, quit crying in the corner and sit down."

*SOB!*

* * *

After the school day ended, Ichigo headed to the area where Mizuiro had said the strange kendoist was lurking around. Of course, Mizuiro had to lead his friends since he was the only one who really knew the area, having visited one of his many girlfriends in the past.

"So seriously Ichigo, what's up?" asked Keigo. "I know it's something weird."

"If this pans out, you'll see," Ichigo replied cryptically.

"Here it is," Mizuiro announced, leading his friends to an open lot. Inside it was bare, but there were a bits of trash hanging around along with lost items like a baseball cap or a broken watch or other little things. What really stood out was the fact that there were small puddles of dried blood and Ichigo was sure he could see some lost teeth at a spot or two.

"Damn," Keigo winced. "This guy doesn't play around. And he took on fifty guys?"

"And didn't get a mark on him," Mizuiro nodded. "After it was over he told them all to bring some more friends next time they tried to pick a fight."

"You mean he's egging them on to come back?" Ichigo frowned. He knew how quick the local thugs could bring in their buddies for a fight. They were like cockroaches that way, there were always more of them. "Is he suicidal? I wouldn't try to take on that many even if you paid me."

"Well, not without your powers," Keigo added.

"True," Ichigo nodded. As a Shinigami, he'd taken on hordes of Hollows way bigger than just fifty or sixty. Still, to try that as a regular human even against common thugs, that was just idiocy.

"Well, that's what Megumi-chan told me," Mizuiro shrugged.

"Just three of you?"

The three teens turned when they heard the voice, spotting a figure walking out of an alley. They were dressed from head to toe in kendo gear, making it difficult to tell if they were male or female, and their voice sounded weird, like something was distorting it. Gripped in the person's hands were two shinai which looked worn and used. Obviously the figure had come looking for a fight.

"I told those punks to bring more friends if they wanted to take me on," the kendoist spoke. "Instead I get three and two of you don't even look like they can fight at all."

"EEP!" Keigo leaped back. "Don't hurt us!"

"We didn't come here for a fight," Mizuiro tried to be reasonable, slowly backing away. "We just wanted to know if the rumors about a kendo demon are true."

"Well they are! I am that demon!" the kendoist answered. "I walk in the steps of Miyamoto Musashi and intend to match his strength by defeating a hundred opponents in one battle! So leave now or become a stepping stone!"

Ichigo was about to open his mouth to retort when he saw it. Walking into the lot from the back and walking _through_ the fence came a new Ganma. This one had already taken on its own form. It was garbed in white robes similar to that a samurai would wear while its face had red lining around the eyes with similar and smaller eyes running down it's face. It wore an elaborate headdress of white and black, looking like some kind of animal motif, likely a bird of some kind. Its left arm held a white and gold bracer, but the right arm was covered in a massive katana blade. It was obvious that the Ganma had absorbed a sword of some kind and became a Katana Ganma.

The Ganma approached the kendoist, obviously invisible to the mundane eye. Of course, Ichigo, Keigo, and Mizuiro could see him as clear as day thanks to their spiritual abilities. Not that the Ganma noticed as it leaned in to the kendoist and began whispering, " _The one with the orange hair is strong. Strong enough to equal many opponents. Fight him._ "

Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise, "Oi!"

"You! Orange-head!" the kendoist spoke up, pointing both weapons at Ichigo. "You seem strong enough to match several opponents! Fight me!"

Ichigo scowled and moved to a stance, causing Keigo and Mizuiro to look to him. Knowing there was no avoiding the fight now, he got his game face on, "I won't fight you, but I will fight that thing whispering in your ear!"

The Katana Ganma stiffened while the kendoist seemed confused, "You can…see me?"

"Damn right I can," Lifting a hand over his waist, Ichigo summoned up his reiatsu and in a flash of orange, the GhostDriver appeared around his waist. As it did so, he felt a chill run down his spine as he felt his body turn ghostly, rendering him invisible to the mundanes.

"Wh-what?!" the kendoist cried, looking around for Ichigo. "Where did he go?!"

"Ichigo?" Keigo blinked, looking at his friend who had turned slightly fuzzy.

"I'll explain later," Ichigo answered as he reached into his jacket and produced his Ore Eyecon and hit the switch.

" **EYE!** **BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHRIMINA!** "

"Eh?" Keigo continued to gape.

"Catchy tune," Mizuiro nodded.

Ichigo loaded the Eyecon into the Driver before he gripped the handle and gave it a pull, "Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!"**

Ichigo's body flashed as his Ore Parka Ghost emerged from his Driver. It hovered around him as his armor formed in lines of orange light. Once the armor was formed, the Parka Ghost slipped onto his body, forming the horned faceplate of Ghost. Change complete, Ghost lowered the hood he wore. A flash of light brought out his Gan Gun Saber which he brandished against the Katana Ganma.

"EEHHHH?!" Keigo cried out in deep shock.

"Wow…cool," Mizuiro blinked.

"What are you two talking about?! I can't see anything!" the kendoist snapped.

The Katana Ganma on the other hand seemed less than impressed as he stepped through the kendoist, brandishing his weapon, "So you're the meddler I was warned about. Hmph! You don't seem so impressive to me."

"The last two Ganma said the same thing," Ghost took a stance. "They don't say that anymore."

"Bold words!" the Katana Ganma laughed. "Let's see you back them up!"

The two fighters charged at one another and swung hard, letting their blades crash against one another. A blast of spiritual power came from the impact, knocking the three witnesses back while the ground beneath them cracked. Their position didn't last long as they began moving into a flurry of strikes and slashes, attempting to strike one another.

"This is nuts!" Keigo cried as he and Mizuiro took shelter behind a parked car. "Man, how does Ichigo keep ending up in situations like this?!"

"Beats me. He's sure up to it though," Mizuiro shrugged, daring to take a peek at the fight. "It's better action than most tokusatsu shows too."

Ghost and the Katana Ganma continued to slash at one another before the Ganma leaped back. Lifting its sword arm, it slashed down vertically, creating a wave of energy. Ghost immediately recognized it as an attack and leaped out of the way, letting the attack keep going before it bisected a parked car, eliciting screams from Keigo. Ghost ignored it knowing that if Keigo could scream that girlishly, he was okay.

Ghost charged and the two combatant's weapons met in another flash of sparks. The two didn't stay stationary as they ran, keeping their weapons pressed together. They kept running, phasing through the back fence of the lot and running into traffic, cars passing through them as if they were air as they continued to clash.

After passing through a filled restaurant, the two phased through the buildings before coming to a large parking lot which was thankfully nearly empty.

"Enough of this!" the Ganma roared, pushing back against Ghost before slashing wide, forcing the Kamen Rider to back away when the force of the blow struck his guard. Seeing he had an opening, the Ganma reached into his outfit and produced a handful of Ganma Eyecons. "I don't have time to deal with you so play with these instead."

The Katana Ganma tossed the Eyecons to the ground before backing away. Ghost frowned before the Eyecons began spewing smoke. The smoke rose up before solidifying into solid bodies. The creatures seemed similar to Ganma before they absorbed the properties of an object, but their faces were blank and they wore black jackets with some silver bone-like decoration on their shoulders. They were also armed with a short silver swords. All of them were moaning like stereotypical ghosts, making them seem more annoying than threatening to the orange Rider.

"Dammit," Ghost growled.

With a united moan, the Ganma Commandos charged for Ghost. The Kamen Rider grunted and charged at the mob, slashing at them as they got close enough. Each strike brought a blast of black sludge as the Commando it came from fell in a heap before vanishing, leaving a shattered Eyecon behind. Still, they had numbers and could be quick, making it hard for Ghost to see which one he was aiming for.

Behind the mob, the Katana Ganma tossed out more Eyecons, making more Ganma before he walked away from the fight, leaving Ghost stuck in the middle of it all.

"Damn! Get! Out! Of! My! Way!" Ghost shouted, cutting a Commando down with each strike. Still, more began to approach, slashing their swords at him. Ghost blocked several strikes and took down more of the Commandos, but the Katana Ganma had created a sizable mob and Ghost knew he couldn't release a Getsuga Tensho on the ground between buildings. He was pinned!

*SHOOM! SHOOM! SHOOM!*

Ghost's eyes widened behind his helmet as three arrows of pure blue energy shot through the mob and pierced the heads of the three closest Commandos, turning them into dust and broken Eyecons. The Commandos became startled and looked around for a source before the next attack came in.

" **El Directo!** "

A sheer blast of fire-like energy blasted through the ranks of the Commandos, destroying several of them in the process. Seeing their numbers whittling down, the final members of the group made a mad dash for Ghost, hoping to finish their purpose.

" **Hinagiku! Lily! Baigon! Santen Kesshun! I Reject!** "

A glowing triangular shield quite suddenly sprang up in front of Ghost, taking the attack from the small group before they bounced off, landing in a heap. Ghost didn't question the appearance, already knowing it. As the shield dropped, he grabbed the handle to the GhostDriver and gave it a quick tug.

" **DAIKAIGAN! ORE! OMEGA DRIVE!** "

Ghost charged at the group with his leg filling with spiritual power. Taking a flying leap, he launched himself with a kick, crashing into the group with a flash of power. The Commandos cried out in pain before they exploded, launching their Eyecons in all directions before they shattered. Ghost stood up as the flames died down, sighing in relief and agitation.

"Dramatic as always, Kurosaki," a male voice spoke up.

Ghost turned to see that he had three new observers. Perhaps were it anyone else he may have been aggravated that they showed up and got involved in his mess. Instead, he just heaved a sigh and shook his head.

"How'd you figure it was me?"

Standing atop a car and dismissing the web-like bow composed of energy he held, Uryu Ishida adjusted his small rectangular glasses. He wore the Karakura High uniform. His features were intellectual, giving him the image of a complete brain, which he was being the number one student in their year, but he had a quiet strength to him. He sported black hair which reached his chin and used to frame his face, but in recent days he had let the left side be tucked behind his ear so he could reach his glasses unhindered. Unlike Ichigo's other friends, Uryu was born with spiritual powers, namely his abilities as a Quincy. He was one of the last, the rest being wiped out in a war against Shinigami.

"Do you take me for a fool?" Uryu commented. "Unlike you I do keep my senses sharp and you were giving off reiatsu all day, something you haven't done since the end of the Winter War. Although I wasn't expecting such an…outfit. Reverting to middle school?"

"Oi! I didn't pick the design, okay? It came this way!" Ghost snapped back. "Not five minutes and you're already snarking at me!"

"I think it's cool! Like Kamen Rider!" the one female of the trio beamed. She was definitely a beauty, wearing the Karakura girls uniform which had the same gray and red, but with a red bow and a skirt. She had long orange hair which framed her face which mixed with her fair features and brown eyes made her appear to be very beautiful. Add her rather gifted curves, especially in her chest, and many people gazed at her like a model. Still, her innate kindness and soft heart always shone through, giving her more admirers. She and Ichigo had known each other for years, namely since the start of high school through their mutual friend Tatsuki. Her name was Orihime Inoue, probably one of Ichigo's closest female friends.

"Ah…thanks, Inoue," Ghost sighed, the comment only reinforcing Uryu's taunt which the Quincy picked up on with a grin while he hopped down from his perch.

"…glad to have you back Ichigo," the last member of the trio spoke, his voice deep and strong.

The last member of the group was a tall young man, easily hitting the six foot five mark. His skin was a deep tan and his hair was shaggy, concealing one of his eyes. His features were most definitely not Japanese, but in fact Mexican. His cheekbones were strongly pronounced and he sported a goatee. Despite the uniform he wore, it was easy to see that Yasutora 'Chad' Sado was a powerful young man. Although, given his right arm was covered in a black and magenta-lined armor/skin with a pointed shoulder rising past his head showed that he was involved in the supernatural as well.

"Haaaa, good to be back," Ghost nodded to likely his second-oldest friend. Reaching to his GhostDriver, he removed his Ore Eyecon, dismissing his suit with it's usual cry of 'Oyasumi'. "I guess I have a bit of explaining to do."

"In proper sentences if you don't mind," Uryu nodded. "Time seems to be of the essence and I don't want to have to suss out something like your other explanations."

"Okay, let's pick up Keigo and Mizuiro and we can explain at my place," Ichigo nodded, his eye twitching at Uryu's snarks, but he didn't rise to the bait. He owed his friends an explanation at least.

* * *

 **Kurosaki Clinic**

Ichigo returned home with his friends in tow. Naturally Yuzu was quick to prepare drinks and snacks as she correctly guessed that they were all there to hear the situation with Ichigo's new powers and try to figure out a way to help him. They relocated to Ichigo's room so they could talk. Ichigo sat on his desk chair while the others stood around the room, Orihime sitting on the bed. After snapping up Kon to keep him from feeling up Orihime's chest again, the orange-haired teen spilled on the details.

He explained the Ganma, what they were and what he knew so far of their abilities. He then explained how he had gotten killed by two of them that teamed up on him, eliciting gasps of shock. Ichigo told them the story about the Sage and his quest to collect fifteen Legendary Eyecons so he could bring himself back to life. Then he brought up the ninety-nine day time limit he was under, leaving ninety-four days to find the small trinkets.

"Only you Kurosaki," Uryu shook his head when his friend finished his story. "Only you could wind up getting yourself killed and then find some kind of loophole to get out of it."

"These Ganma sound pretty bad too," Chad frowned. "They sound a little like Tsukumogami with how they can gain powers from possessing objects."

"A little," Ichigo nodded. "I'm worried one of them might eventually try possessing something like a bomb or a gun and really begin messing things up."

"That is a concern," Uryu agreed, "But what bothers me is that I've never heard of a Ganma before."

"Neither has Dad and if Hat-and-Clogs hasn't spoken up by now then I don't think he knows about them either," Ichigo frowned. "So either they're just so old everybody forgot about them or they're something brand new that no one's seen before."

"Do you think your friends in Soul Society would know?" asked Mizuiro, showing visible worry since his friend was literally on borrowed time.

"We'd have to ask, but the only one around is that Zennosuke loser, right?" asked Ichigo, getting nods from Uryu and Chad. The resident Shinigami who was supposed to be guarding Karakura from Hollows was a bit of a loser and pretty unreliable. "Think he could send a message?"

"Not likely," Uryu shook his head. "With his habits, he'd likely forget about it thinking we're enemies."

"And what about this Sage guy?" asked Keigo. "Can he be trusted? I mean, from your stories you've gotten burned by tricky people in the past."

Ichigo shook his head, "I don't trust him at all, but unless I wanna die then I've got to go for these Eyecons and hopefully save my ass."

"Then we'll help you Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime declared resolutely. "Just tell us how to find these Eyecon thingies and we'll go scoop them up in no time!"

Ichigo smirked slightly, glad to see Orihime was still as cheerful and passionate, "It's not that easy. Speaking of though…" Ichigo looked up. "YURUSEN!"

*POP!*

"What?" the tiny ghost huffed, appearing in a puff of orange smoke. He would have gotten more out but Orihime cut him off by capturing the spirit and hugging him close to her chest.

"Wai!" Orihime giggled. "He's so cuuuute!"

"Waugh! Lemme go! How can you even touch me? ICHIGOOOOO!" Yurusen cried, caught utterly by surprise by Orihime's cuddle. Thinking not many could be able to see and much less touch him, Yurusen wasn't able to defend himself from Orihime's adoration. That in itself was a pretty powerful force considering the abilities she had.

"Okay Inoue, let him go," Ichigo sighed, not really trying. Still, Orihime did so albeit with a pout. The tiny ghost hovered up into the air, grumbling about boob-women. "Yurusen, you said we need three things to get a Legendary Soul to appear. An object belonging to that person, someone who has an emotional tie to that person, but what's the third thing?"

"Why should I tell you?" asked Yurusen. He glanced to the others in the room, "And who are these losers?"

"Hey!" Keigo growled, pointing at the ghost. "You got no room to be insulting others, Tiny!"

"I'll insult whoever I want! I'm a ghost so you can't do anything to me!" Yurusen huffed.

"Wanna Bet?" Keigo rolled his sleeve back for a punch.

"Enough!" Ichigo huffed, forcing the two to back down with his familiar glare. "Yurusen, a Ganma was influencing someone today to make them into a fight maniac or something. Why would a Ganma want anything to do with a person if he doesn't have an Eyecon?"

"Well, _obviously_ the human must have an object tied to a Legendary Soul and an emotional tie to them!" the small ghost huffed. "The Ganma must be influencing that human to fill the object with negative energy and forcibly summon it!"

"And how does a Ganma do that?" asked Chad.

"Simple!" Yurusen turned to face Chad who had a gleam in his eye. Chad was a sucker for cute things although you never would have guessed. Fortunately, he had a better control over that impulse than Orihime did lest the tiny ghost discover the difference between the two in terms of strength. "By pushing a human and filling such an object with the negative power, they will drive that human into madness and make them a proper sacrifice. Then the Ganma will kill them and the ceremony will force a Legendary Soul to appear!"

"What?!" Ichigo cried amid gasps of horror. "If I want a Legendary Soul I have to do that?!"

"Nah. That's just how the Ganma do it," Yurusen answered. "Since you use positive energy as Ghost, you have an easier time of it. I'll explain if you manage to get that far."

"That's a relief then," Uryu sighed. "So this Katana Ganma is influencing that kendoist, wanting to drive him mad so he can force a Legendary Soul to appear. Probably driving him mad with battle lust if he's going out to fight so many people at once."

"Weirdo was saying he was following Miyamoto Musashi's path by doing it," Ichigo frowned. "Which means…" Ichigo's eyes narrowed in thought. "You don't think he really wants to fight one hundred opponents at once? That's why he's telling all the punks to bring back more friends so they can try again."

"And with that Ganma pushing him, he might be able to do it," Mizuiro nodded, "Or worse, the Ganma is what's letting him win but then he'll let the punks beat up that kendoist and the defeat will push him over the edge and let the Ganma make the sacrifice."

"We have to find that person!" Orihime cried in obvious worry.

"But that person likely can't see the Ganma," Chad offered. "Keigo said he didn't seem to see it or Ichigo during their fight. Might be hard to convince them that they're being manipulated."

"Plus we don't even know who this kendoist is," Mizuiro reminded the group. "So we have no idea where they're supposed to be for this big rematch."

Ichigo frowned, but then grimaced, "I think I'd know who would."

"Who?" asked Uryu.

Ichigo just grumbled as he stood up.

* * *

 **Karakura High School**

"KUROSAKI!"

*WHAM!*

The group had relocated to behind Karakura where a bunch of the more delinquent-type students were smoking in some effort to look tough. One in particular saw Kurosaki and ordered his goons to attack just at the sight of them. Ichigo put them all down in short order, not even needing Chad's help. Finally all that was left was the thug leader, Reiichi Oshima.

The guy was a thug through and through. His hair was bleached blonde and was put up in an afro of all things and had piercings in his lip and ears. He and Ichigo had a bit of a history between them. Oshima was a thug and managed to get a following of fellow thugs behind him. When they got to Karakura High School, they knew they needed to do something big in order to impress the upperclassmen thugs and get some street credit. His plan was to round up his guys and they'd all team up on Chad and Ichigo. Both boys, although not delinquents themselves, had some tough reputations since punks kept looking to pick fights with them for street credit. Unfortunately for Oshima, he and his gang got their butts kicked savagely and ruined any chances for their desired street credit.

Oshima and his friends in school would pop up now and then, either fresh from a suspension or just because they were bored, looking to build up their street credit. Usually it ended up getting Ichigo involved and getting his ass kicked again. You'd think he'd have learned, but Oshima was nothing if not persistent.

"Cut the crap Oshima," Ichigo sighed, approaching the downed thug. "I need to ask you something."

"You think I'm gonna talk when you just beat down me and my buds?" the bleach blonde thug growled.

"Kinda. As for the beatdown, you guys brought that on yourselves. I mean, you told them to jump me when I said I needed to ask you something," Ichigo shrugged. He grabbed Oshima by the lapels and lifted him up again, "Now, that psycho kendoist picking fights with every thug in town. You heard about him?"

"Damn right I have!" Oshima grunted. One may have thought a delinquent would have held out longer, but most delinquents outside of Karakura never had to fight Kurosaki before. "Everyone knows! Lots of the gangs are starting to team up to take the freak down for making them look bad!"

"A hundred of them?" Ichigo scowled.

"At least!" Oshima laughed. "Sucker's going D-O-W-N! Ha! Me and the guys were going there too just to get in on it! Bastard kicked our asses a while back!"

"Cry me a river," Ichigo huffed. "The rematch. Where?"

"Riverside, near the overpass," Oshima grunted. "Don't tell me you're going to help this freak!"

"Might have to. Otherwise someone's going to die," Ichigo retorted, dropping Oshima. "Just stay away from it. Otherwise you'll have to worry about something worse than me."

"Guh!" Oshima grunted as he dropped to his butt. "Jeez! What could be worse than a punk like you?"

"Pray you never find out," Ichigo grumbled as he reached his friends. "Okay, let's go guys. We don't have much time."

"Your skill at talking to lower primates is impressive," Uryu commented.

"Not something I wanted," Ichigo shot back.

"So…what are we going to do when we get there?" asked Orihime as they left the school grounds. "What if all those thugs are there and already fighting?"

"Hopefully we can get there on time and get that lunatic out before the other thugs show up for the rumble," Ichigo replied. "I'll handle the Ganma and hopefully we can take it down before it tries to sacrifice anybody for a Legendary Eyecon."

"And if the fight's already going on?" asked Uryu.

"We kick some ass on the way to getting that lunatic out of trouble," Ichigo shrugged. "Just get ready in case the Ganma decides to throw out some more backup."

"Which it likely will with our luck," Uryu frowned.

* * *

 **Riverside**

The sun was sinking closer to the horizon, giving everything a bit of an orange glow. The riverside was no different as what seemed to be a small mob had gathered for an upcoming event. With their back to the water was the kendoist, still clad from head to toe in the traditional gear, hiding their identity. Opposite of them though was a mob of angry thugs, dressed from everything from school uniforms to casual clothes. All of them were quite obviously looking for a fight, many sporting weapons like lead pipes and brass knuckles. The kendoist on the other hand wasn't concerned at all as they merely kept counting off the number of opponents.

"Ninety-eight…ninety-nine…one hundred," the kendoist counted the last thug with anticipation in their voice. "Excellent. One hundred in total. The same amount that Musashi fought."

" _You're on the verge of matching Miyamoto Musashi's strength,_ " the Katana Ganma whispered into the kendoist's ear. " _Just go forward into battle and claim that achievement! Match Musashi and you will eventually surpass Musashi!_ "

"I will match Musashi with this battle, and then I will surpass him!" the kendoist announced, lifting both shinai up.

"Oh shut up you freak!" shouted one thug. "We're gonna kick your ass for what you did!"

"Dibs on breaking his arms!"

"Not if I do it first!"

"Get in line!"

"Oh shut up and get him!"

"RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

" _Now fight! Fight with everything you have!_ " the Katana Ganma shouted to the kendoist.

The kendoist charged into the fray, swinging both shinai with skill and fury. Several thugs went down in heaps as the shinai smashed into the heads, knocking them down or sending them tumbling from the impacts. One thug lashed out with a shiv, but a strike to the arm disarmed him before a blow to the neck forced him back, gasping for breath. More thugs closed in only to receive the same treatment, getting knocked back or stumbling from the strikes.

"Nineteen! Twenty! Twenty-one!"

The kendoist counted off how many thugs went down, looking for that elusive one hundred. The kendoist showed remarkable skill in the famous two-sword style, bashing down many of the thugs in such an overwhelming situation. Spinning to strike one thug down, the kendoist suddenly received a blow to the shoulder, disrupting their balance. The thug who managed to tag the kendoist's shoulder with his pipe reared back for another swing, but got a thrust to the gut before a smack to the head took him down. Still, the damage was done. Inspired by the sight of the kendoist actually taking a blow, the thugs who witnessed it began fighting that much harder.

"Thirty-seven! Thirty-eight! Thirty-nine!"

The mob was beginning to close ranks around the kendoist. While everyone there wanted a piece of their opponent and had no reservations against fighting each other to get to him, they were smart enough to know that their numbers were the only chance they had. Everyone there had gotten beaten or knew someone who had been beaten by the kendoist. They knew the trained fighter could beat any of them so in order to win, they all decided to focus strictly on the kendoist and get in what strikes they could. Eventually the damage of the strikes would add up and leave the kendoist open for everyone to get their licks in. An odd tactic for so many different groups together to have, but one had to take into account how much they hated the kendoist and wanted to see them brought down.

"Fifty-one! Fifty-two! Fifty-three!"

One of the thugs stormed in with a knife and jabbed at the kendoist's neck. Of course the fighter dodged, but not before the blade tore some of the kendoist's robe near the neck. A snap could be heard, but no one paid attention to it. The kendoist didn't notice as more kendo strikes were used to put down the attackers. As the kendoist moved though, something slipped out from behind the breastplate the fighter wore to protect any vital organs from attack. From behind it slipped out a strange medallion. It was very old, possibly rusted and tied to a cut leather strap, showing it had been worn as a necklace. The item didn't appear to be artistic, but in fact seemed more like it had been the guard to a katana at one point.

"There it is," the Katana Ganma admired greedily. "Just a little more…"

The kendoist grunted as another blow was struck to the shoulder, taking the fighter off balance yet again. This time, the thugs capitalized on it when one of them managed to swing a baseball bat and crack the kendoist across the face. The kendoist stumbled and collapsed to the ground in a heap, the helmet being knocked away. The piece of equipment rolled along the ground almost like an omen while a piece of technology fell out of it.

The kendoist grunted and turned to face the thugs, making them stop to blink. Being in the midst of rage, the thugs wouldn't stop for much short of the police. In this case, they stopped cold because looking back at them wasn't some yuppie kendoist practitioner or badass fighter, but the face of a cute girl. She had assumedly long black hair tied into a bun and fair features, making her look like she should be some kind of girly girl, not going around picking fights with thugs for the hell of it. The only real mark against her looks were the slight bags under her eyes.

"Woah! She's a _chick?!_ "

"A cute one too!"

"Wow!"

"Heh," one thug at the front snickered, his eyes leering over the girl. "Okay, new plan guys. Don't bust her up so much. She can pay us back in other ways!"

"Just try it!" the kendoist frowned as she stood up, lifting her weapons again. "I've beaten sixty-three of you! Just thirty-seven of you left!"

"Sounds like a challenge babe! Get her!"

The thugs roared and made to charge again, but that was before a pair of figures leaped from the overpass, crash landing between the two sides in a cloud of dust. When it cleared, the thugs found themselves staring down Ichigo Kurosaki and Yasutora Sado, both with their game faces on. Instantly many of the thugs began to quail, they all having been beaten up by either of the two teens or just knew their reputations. They weren't eager to relive such beatdowns which they knew the pair would dish out at a moment's notice.

"Get outta here," Ichigo scowled.

More than half the remaining thugs did just that, taking their recovering or knocked out friends with them. The ones that remained knew they couldn't win with such reduced numbers so they likewise ran off to fight another day. When the last of them were gone, Ichigo and Chad let their game faces go to see if the person at the centre of the mess was okay. They could tell that she was physically fine, but her face revealed that she was anything but pleased with the rescue.

"You…you…IDIOTS!" she screamed. "You morons! I had it under control! I could have won! I was so close to achieving my path!"

"Hey, we just saved your neck!" Ichigo shot back. "You wanna match Musashi? Fine, but you're going to get yourself killed if you keep pulling dumb crap like this!"

"I don't care! If it means my life, I'll do it!" the kendoist screamed angrily.

"You don't mean that," Chad frowned with a shake of his head.

"I do! This is all that matters! I have to match Musashi! I _have_ to!" The kendoist screamed, panting, she looked to the two boys with desperate eyes. Both boys tensed when a purple aura began to rise from the kendoist as she lifted her swords at the two, "You two! You scared away all of them. That must mean you two are strong enough to at least match thirty-seven opponents! I beat you two, it's the same as beating one hundred!"

"Hey, now calm down," Ichigo tried to reason with her.

"FIGHT ME!" the kendoist screamed, slashing wildly at the pair. Ichigo and Chad quickly dodged the strikes as she stumbled past, coming to a stop behind her.

"It's too late you know," the Katana Ganma spoke, approaching the scene. In his free hand was the old sword guard which was likewise emitting a purple aura, sick and crazed, just like the one coming from the kendoist. He tossed the sword guard to the ground and lifted his sword arm. "She's mine now. May as well just let me put her out of her misery so we can fight over the Legendary Soul of Musashi."

"Musashi's soul?" Chad asked.

"Oh yes. This little trinket is the guard from one of Musashi's swords," the Katana Ganma laughed. He then pointed to the crazed kendoist. "Her family practices the two-sword style and practically reveres the man. A perfect pawn! So now I get a Legendary Soul!"

"No way!" Ichigo scowled. He looked back at the kendoist who seemed crazed still, but the aura was affecting her. She looked ready to pass out. Ichigo recalled that Yurusen said that the Ganma filled their victims and the objects with negative power to summon Legendary Souls. The tiny ghost also said that Ichigo used positive energy as Ghost. It was a sudden idea, one Ichigo thought up on the fly, but it was all he had if he wanted to save the kendoist's life, "Chad, hold him off! I have an idea!"

"Got it!" Chad nodded as Ichigo ran for the kendoist.

"Oh no you don't!" the Katana Ganma snarled, lunging for the girl at the same time. As it moved, Chad was suddenly in front of it, prompting the Ganma to try and cut him down. Chad raised his right arm and in a flash of black and magenta, the blade was stopped by a shield growing from Chad's now covered arm. It was broad and decorated like a screaming face, looking more like it grew out from him rather than be wielded like any kind of armor. "What!?"

Chad's face grew stern. Brazo Derecha de Gigante was his powerful defense and not much could break through it. Not after the Winter War and the training Chad had gone through to keep his abilities strong. Still, even with that, he could still tell that the Katana Ganma had dug into the shield with that sword arm. Ganma were definitely not like Hollows and that damage to the shield was the proof. Chad knew he was going to have a fight on his hands.

Meanwhile, Ichigo ran for the kendoist, dampening his emotions so that he would be in his ghost form while he channelled his reiatsu through himself. Reaching the girl, he braced himself for his idea. Once he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her close, pushing his reiatsu into her and smashing it against the negative energy that the Ganma had compounded inside of her.

Ichigo saw white.

* * *

 **Inner World**

Ichigo blinked and looked around, finding himself in a dojo decorated entirely with things all related to Miyamoto Musashi. His ink paintings were on the walls and his weapons were placed in stands. However, what was disturbing about it all was that purple fire was threatening to consume everything. It didn't feel hot though, but instead felt cold, like death. Ichigo frowned and walked through the flame, it sputtering out as he came into contact with it. He walked to the far side of the dojo where he could see the kendoist sitting before a portrait of Musashi, reading a book the man wrote, The Book of Five Rings. She was studying it almost zealously, ignoring the purple flames around her.

Ichigo watched her for a moment, but dared himself to speak, "You…you're Mariko Kino."

Don't ask him how he knew her name. Somehow, by combining his reiatsu with her aura, he somehow got her name out of it.

"Yes," the girl stopped her reading and looked up to Ichigo. "Why…are you here?"

"To stop you from killing yourself," Ichigo answered. "You keep up this desperate charge to match Musashi then you're going to end up dead."

Mariko blinked, "But…I have to follow the path of bushido, Musashi's path. I am the only child of the family and since I'm a girl I'm already at a disadvantage. I need the strength to be able to hold myself up as someone in the lineage of samurai."

Well, that explained her drive. Still, Ichigo shook his head, "Kino, bushido isn't about just going out and fighting opponents. It's about a discipline, a way to control strength. Duels and battles are just a means of honing that strength, not proving you have it. Musashi didn't take on those hundred opponents just because he wanted to feed his ego. He did it because he had a duty to his allies to fight those one hundred and help them win their battles."

"But Musashi didn't have a sworn lord," Marika frowned.

"But he had friends, allies, people who counted on him, like the Toyotomi," Ichigo retorted. "He didn't fight out of some sworn oath of loyalty, but because they were his allies and comrades. That makes why he fought all the more important. He didn't do it just to get strong and he certainly didn't do it by crushing everyone. He fought, he grew, he gained experience. Brutal wars never solved anything, but learning and growing sure did. That was Musashi's path of bushido."

Mariko blinked and looked back to her book, "Strength…through experience. Fighting not for that strength…but for the bonds of others. He did all that? Then…why did I focus so much on just him fighting one hundred opponents…?"

"You took some bad advice," Ichigo shrugged. "But it's not too late to change things."

Mariko looked to the book she was reading, but then began to smile, "Yes. Beating opponents won't make me strong. But fighting for the bonds with the people I call my friends. That is how I'll match Musashi, but forging bonds with a hundred people, not fighting them!"

Ichigo grinned, "Now that's the way to match Musashi."

Mariko smiled and a pulse of white light came from her body. As it touched the purple flames burning the dojo, they were immediately snuffed out, leaving everything pristine once again. The light grew bright from Mariko and enveloped everything, leaving Ichigo in the white light again.

* * *

 **Riverside Overpass**

"Get out of my way human!" the Katana Ganma shouted, slashing at Chad once again. "Or at least fight back!"

Chad blocked the blow and skidded backwards. His shield was covered in slash marks, but it wasn't broken just yet. Above them on the overpass, Uryu and Orihime were watching with Keigo and Mizuiro, looking at both the fight and the fact that Ichigo had phased inside the glowing kendoist.

"Kurosaki-kun, Sado-kun," Orihime breathed, watching in concern.

"Tsk!" Uryu clenched his fist around his Quincy cross. He knew why Chad wasn't fighting back. It would give the Ganma more openings to go after the kendoist and sacrifice her for the sake of his twisted spirit summoning. By staying on the defensive, Chad was forcing the Ganma to focus entirely on him and not on the girl it was aiming to kill. Still, with the marks he had seen on Chad's shield, he was worried that if Ichigo took much longer, he would have to intervene.

Quite suddenly, the girl flared with a white aura. The purple negative energy immediately seemed to flare, but then be drowned out entirely. Not far from her, the sword guard likewise stopped emitting such a disgusting sensation.

"What?!" the Katana Ganma gasped, seeing the auras die. "No! You've ruined it!"

A light emerged from the girl as she dropped to her knees, almost sighing in relief as Ichigo reappeared. Frowning, he stepped towards the Ganma, summoning his GhostDriver. "Damn right I ruined your little spell. Now all that's left is to deal with you!" He pulled out his Ore Eyecon and hit the switch, activating it.

" **EYE! BATCHRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHRIMINA!** "

"Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

Ichigo became adorned in his Ghost armor while the Ore Parka Ghost emerged and wrapped around him, completing the transformation. Summoning the Gan Gun Saber, Ghost began his approach, "Thanks Chad. I got it now."

"Right," Chad nodded, backing away.

"GRRRRR! All my hard work ruined! I'll kill you Boy!" the Katana Ganma bellowed and charged at Ghost with its arm raised.

The two met and clashed with a shower of sparks, taking swings at one another. It almost looked like a scene from a samurai drama, something Orihime would later be quick to point out, save for the fact that one combatant was a monster while the other was a ghost. Still, it was an intense fight. The Ganma slashed wide to try and bisect his opponent only for Ghost to block the attack and then ran along the length of the sword to slash down the Ganma's open torso and kick it away. Snarling, the Ganma slashed wide again, launching a vacuum blade which cut through the air like a knife. Ghost ducked under the strike and charged for the Katana Ganma again, their weapons clashing in another shower of sparks.

Meanwhile, Orihime had taken notice of the fact that the kendo girl was still kneeling on the ground down below. Concerned for the would-be victim of the Ganma, she charged off the overpass and rand down to her side, gently shaking her to try and see if she was all there, "Can you hear me? Are you okay? Can you move?"

"I've been such an idiot," the girl replied, making Orihime blink. "I thought just fighting would make me strong enough to match Musashi. But swords weren't what made Musashi strong. It was his will, his ability to bond with others. He adopted two sons out of the goodness of his own heart. I shallowly thought matching Musashi meant swords and strength. Now I know that those were only a small part of what made the man so great."

"Hey, it's okay," Orihime smiled. "The important thing is that you realize it. Now you can get back on the horse and try again! Trust me when I say I know what's like to goof up. You made a mistake, but now that you know what to do, you can try again. Simple!"

The kendo girl smiled at the orangette and nodded, "Yes. Now I know what made Musashi so strong. So now I'll focus on making bonds with the people I care about, enough to make a hundred of them. That's the way to match Musashi!" As if responding to her words, the girl's body lit up with a proud red aura. It didn't feel bad, in fact, Orihime could feel positive strength coming from the girl now. It made her want to get up and go win a great contest.

In the midst of their battle, Ghost and the Ganma could both feel it. From the corner of his eye, Ghost saw the old sword guard light up with a matching red aura like Mariko's. "Huh?"

"It's coming! It's coming!" Yurusen appeared above the field. "Musashi's spirit is ready to appear!"

"What!?" the Katana Ganma cried out. He saw the glowing hand guard and immediately broke off from Ghost to charge for the object. "I won't let Musashi escape me a second time!"

*SHOOM!*

"GAAH!" the Ganma cried out as a spirit energy arrow suddenly fired down from above and pierced the Katana Ganma's chest, knocking it aside. Ghost blinked and glanced up to see Uryu with his bow deployed, readying another arrow to point at the Ganma.

"What are you waiting for Kurosaki?" Uryu shouted. "I'll cover you! Get the Legendary Soul!"

"Right!" Ghost nodded before he ran to the glowing sword guard and picked it up. "Yurusen, what do I do now?"

The tiny ghost shot down to Ghost's side, "All you have to do is channel your energy into your hand and draw an eye symbol over the object. It'll work since it's so full of positive energy now! Do it! Hurry before Musashi changes his mind!"

Ghost nodded and concentrated his reiatsu into his right hand, letting it begin to glow orange. Raising his pointer and middle fingers, he tapped them in the space above the hand guard in his hand before drawing around it in a vague eye-like shape. Once the design was complete, a sigil shaped like an eye flashed above the item, designed similarly to the one on Ghost's chest. The item then reacted, beginning to spew red smoke, vanishing in it's own haze. The smoke then shot from Ghost's hand and into the air before suddenly expelling something new.

The spirit was in fact a red Parka Ghost. It had no sleeves, but it did have metal plating on the shoulders and metal bands under where the arms would come out. The hood was up, showing a metal headband around the forehead with a thin horn coming from the center while coming from the back of the 'head' was a katana handle and hilt which made it seem like the hairstyle samurai would sport. From metal studs on the shoulders extended two lengths of red fabric, both ending in thin metal blades which the Parka Ghost was using as arms. In the centre of the hood, a pair of red eyes glowed deeply in the shadowed recesses.

"That's…Miyamoto Musashi?" Ghost asked, a little confused.

"Yes! You summoned him as Ghost so he appeared as a Parka Ghost! Now collect him and you can get an Eyecon! Just grab him!" Yurusen shouted impatiently.

"I'm not going to just manhandle someone's soul!" Ghost snapped back.

Ghost didn't have to worry about claiming the Parka host since it hovered down to examine him. Ghost stiffened, feeling the weight of such a powerful soul gazing at him. It wasn't like the crushing strength he'd felt come from his various enemies in the past. Instead, it felt more like a weight came with the soul, an unspoken strength which forced you to acknowledge it and wait for its words. Ghost had asked Musashi to appear so he didn't have the luxury of snapping requests.

" _You were the one who summoned me?_ " asked the Musashi Parka Ghost.

"I was," Ghost nodded, standing up straight so he could look Musashi in the eye.

" _Why?_ " Musashi asked simply.

"What are you doing jabbering?!" Yurusen demanded hotly, flying into Ghost's face. "Just grab him and get the Eyecon and-WAUGH!" his tirade was cut off when Ghost swatted him out of the way, leaving him to speak to Musashi.

"The people of Japan are in danger," Ghost replied, picking his words carefully. He pointed to where the Katana Ganma was recovering from Uryu's shot, prompting Musashi to turn and take notice of the evil spirit. "Ganma, demons, are manipulating people to do their bidding so they can enslave legendary souls like you and take their power for themselves. That one tried to sacrifice an innocent person before I stopped him, keeping it from forcibly summoning you."

" _I see. That would explain the disgusting sensation I had earlier,_ " Musashi narrowed his eyes and looked back to Ichigo. " _And what would you do with my power?_ "

"I'm not going to lie. I need fifteen Eyecons with legendary souls to save my life," Ghost answered honestly. "But until I get those fifteen, I'm going to use every one I find to keep the Ganma from preying on people and protect the souls of people like you!"

" _Bold words. Although you are not a samurai, I can sense your spirit follows a rigid code equal to that of one,_ " Musashi nodded, hovering higher in the air. " _Very well. I will grant you my power. Use it well!_ " With that, the Musashi Parka Ghost dove down at Ghost, getting sucked inside the Ghost Driver. Ghost blinked, but when a red light began to shine from the device, he held a hand out in front of it. In red sparkles, a new Eyecon appeared, this one red to the Ore Eyecon's black.

"No!" The Katana Ganma grunted, pulling itself to its feet. "You little bastard! I will not let you steal away Musashi's Eyecon from me!" He reached into his robe and began throwing out Ganma Eyecons, summoning Ganma Commandos with ghostly moans. "Take that Eyecon from him even if you have to kill him!"

"Great," Ghost groaned. Looking to the Eyecon in his hand, he decided he didn't have much of a choice. The Katana Ganma was still throwing out more Eyecons to create more Commandos. Likely since it's goal was so close; it wasn't going to hold back anything. "Well here goes nothing."

Opening the GhostDriver, Ghost removed his Ore Eyecon. Immediately his Ore Parka Ghost and faceplate vanished, leaving him in his Transient form. Holding up the Musashi Eyecon, He hit the activation switch for it, prompting the pupil to spin around a show a 01 in the centre.

" **EYE! BATCHRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHRIMINA!** "

Ghost then inserted the Musashi Eyecon into the GhostDriver before shutting it. Praying that he was executing a good idea, He pulled the handle to activate its power.

" **KAIGAN! MUSASHI! KETTO! ZUBATTO! CHOKENGO!** "

The Musashi Park Ghost appeared and spun around Ghost before settling over his frame like a glove. Ghost's new faceplate then lifted to cover the helmet, revealing two swords crossing over the center of the faceplate, causing the sides to appear like giant eyes. When the change completed, Ghost rolled his shoulders and prepared to take the fight to the Ganma…but then realized his sword felt all wrong. Looking to it, the weapon just suddenly felt awkward. It felt too big, like he couldn't coordinate his attacks properly with such a big bulky blade. That of course didn't make sense since Ghost was used to fighting with an oversized sword since his Shinigami days.

"The hell?" he frowned, lifting the now awkward blade up. At first confused, he suddenly realized what was wrong.

Musashi fought with two katanas and Ghost was now channelling him.

Crap.

Ghost was about to just wing it and see what happened, but that was when the Gan Gun Saber reacted on its own. The reverse side of the sword, the portion face him, suddenly snapped and slid up, revealing it to be removable. Figuring that it was important, Ghost removed the separated portion and a handle unfolded from the bottom, turning the single double-edged sword into twin light swords quite similar to a katana. Gripping them both, Ghost felt a strong familiarity with the weapons, like he had been using them as long as he had Zangetsu, if not longer.

"Now we're getting somewhere!" Ghost nodded, taking a stance from the Nito-Ryu that Musashi had founded. "Well then, _Hajime!_ "

Ghost let the Commandos come to him and the first ones that reached him were dispatched in whirlwinds of sword strikes. The Commandos attempted to use their numbers, but quickly found that it did not do them any good as they were likewise struck down, light flashing from Ghost's swords in the lowering sunlight. To anyone who knew the style, it would have been literally perfect use of the Nito-Ryu, but that made sense since the founder was imprinting his skill into Ghost's body. He only backed away once the Commandos began mobbing him, but once he had his breathing space, he was able to cut down even more of their numbers with almost laughable ease.

Above the fight on the overpass, Uryu had to shake his head as Keigo and Mizuiro watched in awe, "Kurosaki's raw power used with Miyamoto Musashi's skill. That is a scary combination."

"Sugoi," Orihime admired, confusing Mariko at her side.

Chad merely watched with a small grin, happy to see his oldest friend back in action. Maybe he was different, but he was back just the same.

The massacre of the Ganma Commandos continued until Ghost slashed the last one, dispelling it into smoke and a broken Ganma Eyecon. Once the smoke from its demise lifted, Ghost turned and faced the Katana Ganma which was at the other end of the clearing. It was trembling with rage, but Ghost knew why it would be. When it came to Ganma, he was happy to enrage them and screw up their plans over and over again no matter how many times they tried.

Staring down at the Katana Ganma, Ghost pointed one sword at it, "Ninety-nine. You'd make one hundred."

"Grrrrr!" the Katana Ganma growled, lifting its sword arm. "I'll tear that Eyecon out of your corpse!"

The Ganma charged at Ghost, weapon raised for no doubt a lethal strike. Ghost didn't charge back, adjusting his stance for a retaliatory strike. Once his footing was down, he brought the main body of the Gan Gun Saber down to his belt and allowed it to connect to the GhostDriver with eye to eye contact.

" **DAIKAIGAN! OMEGA SLASH!** "

The Katana Ganma didn't care as red power coursed through the twin swords, lighting them up in the sunlight. Once the Ganma came in close enough, it lashed out with a powerful strike which howled through the air, energized with the evil power Ganma drew from. Ghost didn't show any fear and twisted under the strike to where the Ganma was open before unleashing a pair of strikes which left red lines in the air while they cut through the Ganma's body. The Ganma screamed as its outfit slipped away, leaving it as a Primal Ganma before both exploded. Ghost was unaffected by the heat or the explosion and merely looked down as when the smoke cleared, he could see a katana in its sheathe on the ground next to a Ganma Eyecon which shattered soon after.

"Whew," Ghost sighed, shaking his head. Removing the Eyecon from his Driver, he smiled as the red eye-like device seemed to be looking back at him in approval. "Thank you Musashi-dono."

Unknown to anyone, under the overpass on the far side of the river, Alain and the Mysterious Man watched the confrontation end with their loss of the Eyecon.

"This is getting annoying," Alain frowned at his companion.

"Patience Alain," the Mysterious Man replied. "This is just a bump in the road. Nothing to worry about."

* * *

 **Kurosaki Clinic**

Ichigo sighed in relief as he lay back on his bed, feeling tired, but a good kind of tired. Glancing over to his bedside table, he looked at his Ore and Musashi Eyecons. He was now officially on the road to saving his own life. Granted he still had to find fourteen more Eyecons, but now he could say he was on the right track and making progress. He also wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was glad that he was able to get Uryu, Chad, and Orihime in on his newest adventure. While he didn't like dragging them into his problems, he was glad to know that they had his back and were lending him help to try and find more Eyecons. It was like during back in his Shinigami days again.

"Feels like good times again," Ichigo grinned to himself.

"PARTY TIME!"

"Waugh!" Ichigo cried out, sitting up in his bed and preparing to punch someone. He at first thought that his father was coming in for another sneak attack, instead, he saw none other than the Sage emerging from his closet dressed like he was going to go out to a party. He even had balloons and streamers stuffed in the closet behind him. "What the hell are _you_ doing in there, Old Man?!"

"Oh, just moving in," the Sage shrugged.

"Moving in?!" Ichigo gaped. "WHY!?"

"Well, you're going to need help and clues to point you in the right direction," the Sage shrugged. "You won't be as lucky as you were today after all." The old man then gasped and began to grin, "Oh! Before I forget, I got you a present to celebrate finding Musashi's Eyecon!" He rummaged around in the closet before coming out with a brown leather-bound book which seemed to be of a respectable size. The title called it _Heroes in History_ with no author's name.

"What's this for?" asked Ichigo, taking the book.

"Just something to help you read up on the Legendary Souls you collect," the Sage smiled. "The more you know about them, the better you can use their abilities!"

"Okay," Ichigo nodded. That made sense to him since he was channelling the souls of those heroes. "But you can't live in my closet!"

"Yes I can!" the Sage grinned. "I already moved in so you can't do anything about it."

"Watch me!" Ichigo growled, lunging for the old man.

*WHAM! CRASH! BOOM! WHAMMO!*

 **93 Days Remain...**

 **To Be Continued…**

 _Next time on Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached_

 _Ichigo: Okay, so what is this again?_

 _Uryu: Considering the relics on display, one has to be able to call a Legendary Soul._

 _Orihime: Woooh…tingly…_

 _Yurusen: Why do you keep doing things the hard way?!_

 _?: My work is one percent genius and ninety-nine percent perspiration!_

 _ **Ereki! Hirameki! Hatsumei-ō~!"**_

 _ **Next Time: Spark of Invention!**_

 _Chad: …please look forward to it._

* * *

 **CHECK IT OUT! OMAKE CORNER!**

 **PARKA GHOST PARADE!**

 **Musashi Damashii**

This is the form which summons the power of Miyamoto Musashi for Ghost. In this form his punching and kicking strength increase slightly, but his overall jumping ability and running speed drop slightly. Likely this is because as a samurai, Musashi did not need to run and jump as much as he needed to use his arms and legs in battle. It's a solid choice to use in battle against any opponent if Ore Damashii is unable to get the job done. While using this form though, Ghost loses his ability to use large blades such as the Gan Gun Saber in combat. It no longer feels like a comfortable weapon like in Ore Damashii. Fortunately, he is able to split his weapon into twin katanas, allowing him to use the full abilities of Musashi and the sword style he founded.


	3. Spark of Invention

**I do not own Kamen Rider Ghost or Bleach. They belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and am not seeking any kind of profit from it. If you do not like my works then you can look elsewhere for something more suitable for your tastes. For those of you who remain, please enjoy.**

 **Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 3: Spark of Invention**

 **91 Days Remain...**

Ichigo scratched his head as he walked to school. It had been three days since the incident with the Katana Ganma and Ichigo admitted he was feeling good at having gotten the Musashi Eyecon. He now stood at Ninety-One days left in his time limit and still had thirteen more Eyecons to find. Still, with any luck he'd be able to sniff something out now that his friends were helping him search out leads for more of them. With any luck they'd find more and help save Ichigo's life.

Walking onto the school property, Ichigo prepared himself for another boring day and getting pestered by Keigo and…

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

*WHAM!*

Ichigo grunted as he hit the ground, seeing stars. His face throbbed like crazy from the punch and he was pretty sure if it was any harder he'd have a concussion. Blinking, he looked up and saw that his attacker was standing over him.

The attacker turned out to be a girl, same age as him and wearing the Karakura High School girls uniform. She was very lean, quite obviously a tomboy. Her hair was spiky and black and her eyes were brown. Likely the only thing feminine about her aside from the fact she had boobs was that her hair reached down past her shoulders, something of a recent acquisition.

"Hey Tatsuki," Ichigo grunted.

Tatsuki Arisawa and Ichigo had been friends for years, back in their kiddie days when they would train at the same dojo. She'd always kick his ass back then and being the crybaby that he was then, Ichigo often ended up crying about it as some point. Ironically, she'd protect him from bullies and such before his mother died and he toughened up.

Tatsuki and Orihime were quite a pair, being best friends since middle school. Tatsuki having taken it upon herself to protect Orihime since the girl just couldn't bring herself to talk back to anybody and didn't have a mean bone in her body. It was a role suited to her since Tatsuki was pretty aggressive and damn strong, second strongest in their age group in Japan according to martial arts rankings. The downside was that she had something of a temper and wasn't shy in letting it blow. Like now.

"Don't you 'hey Tatsuki' me buster!" Tatsuki growled. She grabbed Ichigo by the lapels of his jacket before beginning to drag him out behind the school. "You're coming with me!"

Ichigo idly noticed that no one was really doing anything to help. Then again, it was no surprise. Tatsuki's temper was legendary. Even the teachers knew than to try and talk to her when she was in a rage over something. Like that one time Kon (in Ichigo's body) made a move on her in a lecherous way and cheesed her off something fierce. No one dared move until Tatsuki calmed down, in which she accepted her punishment although she still felt she was in the right.

Tatsuki took Ichigo out behind the school before slamming him against the wall, scowling darkly at him, "Orihime told me a funny story last night."

' _Crap,_ ' Ichigo mentally sighed. He hadn't told Tatsuki about his current situation and now it was coming to bite him in the ass. Like his other friends, Tatsuki was spiritually aware and pretty much knew the score since the Winter War. She wasn't happy with Ichigo keeping such a secret from her and let him know it. Now it seemed he had accidentally kept her out of the loop and had pissed her off. Perhaps he'd be dying before those ninety-nine days were up after all.

"Yeah," Tatsuki hissed. "Apparently you've got ninety-nine days to live and to save yourself you need to fight monsters using a suit of armor that's powered by magical eyeballs. Is there something you need to tell me?"

' _So close, yet so far,_ ' Ichigo mentally cringed. Orihime had a way of telling stories, being so close to the actual tale, but so far off the mark at the same time. "Well, she's mostly right. She's just got a few extra details wrong."

"Then spill!" the irate girl snapped, not releasing her hold on him.

Ichigo grunted and told the story. He told her about what he knew about the Ganma, about the Eyecons, about Ghost and Sage (the damn freeloader) and what he needed to do to ensure that he could save his own life. Tatsuki listened to all of it, despite thinking it sounded like the tokusatsu shows she and Orihime watched from time to time.

Rather than let him go, Tatsuki's grip tightened, "And _when_ were you going to let me on this little secret?"

"I was going to," Ichigo huffed. "But then came that Katana Ganma, then we were hunting for more leads and it kind of just fell to the wayside."

"YOU TOLD KEIGO AND MIZUIRO BEFORE ME!" Tatsuki snapped.

"They saw me transform! I didn't have a choice!" Ichigo snapped back.

"Oh well if I saw you transform then you'd tell me then? I had to get Orihime to tell me!" Tatsuki snapped back, finally letting him go. "Be honest Ichigo, you had no intention of telling me, did you?"

"I said I was going to, but it got pushed to the back burner," Ichigo insisted.

"Yeah, I bet," Tatsuki frowned. "You could have told me about the Shinigami stuff, especially after Orihime got kidnapped but you didn't then. In fact, you refused to tell me until I had to stare down that Aizen asshole. Is that when you would tell me about this? When I had to face down some other ridiculously strong monster or when you were on the last of your ninety-nine day limit?"

"Tatsuki…" Ichigo began.

"I'm getting tired of this Ichigo," Tatsuki crossed her arms. "It was one thing with Hollows and Arrancar, but this isn't that! I can handle these Ganma things and I can help hunt down leads on Eyecons. So quit thinking you have to take everything on yourself and let us help! You've only got ninety-one days to live so stop with the whole burdened hero bit and let me help!"

"Tatsuki…" Ichigo tried to argue but found himself coming up short.

"Yeah, I thought so," Tatsuki huffed. She shook her head before massaging her brow, "You're damn lucky I've known you for so long. Any less and I'd have left you high and dry in some fit like a girl would."

"Good thing you're not much of a girl," Ichigo grinned lightly.

"Yeah, lucky you," Tatsuki snickered. "Anyway, Orihime said you needed to find stuff that belonged to legendary heroes, right? That and fanboys for those people to summon the souls you need to make Eyecons?"

"That's the general gist of it," Ichigo nodded.

"Okay," Tatsuki nodded. "Then I know a spot we can find all the relics we want. Then we'd just have to find someone gushing over all of it."

"You do? Where?" Ichigo blinked.

"Isn't it obvious?" the tough tomboy retorted.

* * *

"Seriously?" Ichigo deadpanned, looking at the building he, Tatsuki, and Orihime were standing in front of. After returning to class, with his classmates shocked that he was still alive with how pissed off Tatsuki was with him, He touched base with Orihime and she shared her and Tatsuki's idea of what they were going to do to track down more Eyecons. That led to the current moment of standing in front of the local historical museum.

"Yes!" Orihime beamed. "There should be all kinds of stuff you can make an Eyecon from. All we have to do is find someone who really, really looks up to the people the stuff comes from and poof!" She then opened her hands wide from clenched fists, mimicking a poof. "A brand new Eyecon!"

"Inoue…" Ichigo began. He could see so many things wrong with the plan.

"Ichigo, it's not like we have any leads for anything else," Tatsuki reminded her friend, simultaneously defending her other friend.

"I think it's a good idea!" Yurusen announced, popping into existence next to Ichigo's head.

"No one asked you," Ichigo huffed, glaring at the annoying ghost.

"Pft!" Tatsuki snickered, eyeing Yurusen and how he was hovering around Ichigo, obviously annoying the orange-haired teen. "Man, this really is like a Tokusatsu show now. We've even got the annoying little mascot."

"Hilarious," Ichigo deadpanned. "So how do we do this?"

"Simple! We go explore!" Orihime smiled, pointing at the building. "Onward!"

So the trio of teens (and one ghost) entered the museum with Orihime leading the way. Although it was supposed to be an excursion to try and find relics of legendary people which could be turned into Eyecons, under Orihime's leadership it seemed to turn into a daytime get-together with her friends. They walked through the Japan's history, incidentally finding an exhibit about Musashi, Orihime eagerly saying that they knew the man personally, they could ask him to confirm anything the exhibits said.

Other exhibits in world history proved to be a similar bust. Not that they didn't see interesting things, but none of it seemed like it was really something that would be able to bring out a Legendary Soul. Not that it stopped Orihime from examining each exhibit they passed. Of course, Ichigo and Tatsuki had to reign her back when she would inevitably get too close to the exhibit and risk getting a security guard taking issue with them.

Finally the three came to a rest in an empty hallway between exhibits. Tatsuki was reading through a brochure while Orihime was munching on a bag of popcorn, sharing with Yurusen. Ichigo was just leaning back, feeling tired for no apparent reason.

"Okay, so much for feudal Japan and colonization-era America," Tatsuki huffed, scratching off portions of the map. "Okay, how about medieval Europe? Might be something hanging around there. Enough of the girls gush about princes and stuff at school anyway."

"Uh-huh, they do!" Orihime nodded, "Maybe we'll find a legendary prince?"

"Legendary princes tend to end up being legendary kings," Ichigo replied. "But I see the point. So let's head over there next."

" _Come on, come on, invent it. It's the greatest idea in the history of ever! Don't you want to be rich and famous?_ "

The three teens and one ghost froze. Looking around, they saw at the far end of the hallway was a janitor who was keeping himself busy with some dust he was sweeping up. He had a bit of a sour look on his face, like he was thinking of something unpleasant. All in all, he didn't look like anyone who stood out. He had black hair which was cut short and he wore a green jumpsuit and as working with a broom and dustpan with a trolley filled with cleaning materials nearby.

What made the man stand out though was the Ganma whispering rather insistently in his ear.

It had the same appearance in body as other Ganma did, but like other Ganma who managed to evolve, it was wearing an outfit which afforded it new powers and abilities. In this case, this Ganma was wearing a long white lab coat. Wrapped around its shoulders were coils of brass cords with a line leading down it its hands. Its hands were covered in metal gauntlets which made its fingers look like tesla coils. Weirdly enough, it wore a glass dome over its head which was clear and had a tip, making it look like one big lightbulb.

"Aw crap," Ichigo hissed.

"No shit," Tatsuki grimaced. "So what do we do?"

"You to try to get that guy away," Ichigo slowly stood up. "Me and the Ganma are invisible so we can just go nuts. Just make sure he's away from here." Since the Ganma wasn't looking at them, Ichigo had all the time he needed to prepare. Grabbing his Ghost Eyecon, he summoned his GhostDriver before hitting the switch on his eye-like device. The pupil revealed a letter G before he dropped it into his Driver.

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHIRIMINA! BATCHRIMINA!** "

"Huh?" the Bulb Ganma turned, hearing the Driver beginning to sing. Ichigo's eye twitched, more than annoyed at how his belt's quirks making him into a spectacle.

"Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

This would be the first time Tatsuki witnessed Ichigo transform. She had to admit it was way flashier than his Shinigami transformation. That just involved him jumping out of his human was something else. She first watched as Ichigo's body lit up with markings before his clothes changed into a black bodysuit with armor on his limbs and chest. Displayed prominently on his chest was an eye symbol. The helmet that masked his face was blank and unimpressive. Then his belt seemingly expelled what looked like a black and orange hoodie with short sleeves and eyes. It danced around Ichigo for a bit before it wrapped itself around him. Now the blank faceplate was filled with orange light as a pair of black eyes looked outwards. A single horn stuck out the forehead.

Ichigo slowly pulled the hood down from his head and then he cracked his knuckles before drawing the Gan Gun Saber from his hand.

Now he had transformed into Kamen Rider Ghost.

"Alright, let's go!" Ghost shouted as he charged at the Bulb Ganma. Freaked out, the Ganma shot out a beam of electricity directly at Ghost. Startled, Ghost was struck in the chest and sent sliding across the museum floor on his back as his chest smoked.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime gasped.

"Huh? What?" the janitor looked up, not seeing Ghost or the Ganma, but did see the electricty cracking lin the air from the Ganma's attack. "Holy cow!"

"Gah! Dammit!" Ghost cursed as he rose to his feet and charged at the Ganma. It fired bolts of electricity again, but Ghost saw them coming and dodged before finally crossing the distance. He slashed and sparks burst out on contact as his sword struck the Ganma.

"Dammit!" The Ganma turned to flee.

"Not so fast!" Ghost shouted as he gave chase.

Exiting the museum by phasing through the walls, Ghost and the Bulb Ganma found themselves in a nearby playground. A sponsored play area for younger children who could enjoy a bit of dinosaur-themed time. Fortunately no children were around since school had been let out only an hour ago. Most kids were still at home.

The Ganma turned to fire another attack but instead howled as Ghost kicked him in the chest, sending him tumbling. It struggled to get up, but found itself pinned when Ghost's boot slamme down on its shoulder. "GAH! OW!"

"OK, Ganma! I saw what you were up to! What were you trying to do?" Ghost demanded.

"It looked like he was trying to influence the guy," Yurusen suggested as he appeared next to Ghost.

The Bulb Ganma gritted his teeth before turning into a bolt of electricity that sped away. It used the metal of the playground equipment to travel before leaping onto a telephone pole and begin racing away down the power lines.

"He's getting away!" Ichigo shouted.

"I got it! Machine Ghoststriker!" Yurusen called.

Ghost jumped slightly where a large glowing symbol not unlike his eye symbol appeared next to the tiny ghost. A roar from a machine came from it before what appeared to be a motorcycle emerged. In basic structure, it looked like a regular motorcycle. A Honda CRF205L to be specific, not that Ghost was much of a motorcycle enthusiast. However, the body was encased in a ghostly gray body with an orange seat while the front looked like aun undead horse with a ghostly blue horn. A second later, the eyes of the horse flashed as a neigh mixed with an engine roar came from the machine.

"What the-?" Ghost blinked.

"Machine Ghostsriker! Every Kamen Rider needs a motorcycle!" Yurusen cackled. "He's a powerful ghost horse who's been infused into a motorcycle. Not even that Ganma can get away from something like this!"

"Oh, good," Ghost nodded with a growing grin. Dismissing the Gan Gun Saber, he mounted the machine and after a moment of getting comfortable, he found the throttle and took off with a roar. Ghost followed the trail of the Ganma, quickly finding it in the form of a surge of electricity racing down the power lines. Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about watching the road. Since Ghost and his ride were spectral, any car which they met they just phased through without any issues.

"Great, now how to get him down?" Ghost wondered to himself.

He quickly got his answer as the GhostDriver summoned the Gan Gun Saber again. Ghost caught it, but the handle suddenly shifted, letting the weapon point like a gun and revealing a trigger mechanism on the handle. The removable blade the slipped off, flipping around as the handle folded onto the blade, revealing a gun barrel. The portion then reattached to the main body of the weapon, transforming it into a functioning gun.

"Handy," Ghost nodded before he lifted his weapon and took aim. He squeezed off several rounds, but found his aim in firearms lacking, especially when travelling at high speeds on a motorcycle. Cursing softly, Ghost cut a corner to try and gain some distance. Looking ahead, he suddenly got an idea to try and cut off the Ganma's escape plan. Taking aim once again, he fired at the power lines themselves.

Ghost's aim was true as a blast of electricity exploded from top of an upcoming telephone pole. Sparks flew in all directions and a few pedestrians ran with cries of shock. The pulse of power that was the Ganma reached the end of the line before suddenly manifesting in a flash of light.

"Waugh!" it screamed, tumbling from the top of the pole. "Ow! Hey, who cut out the road?!"

"That would be me," Ghost spoke up, causing the Ganma to flinch and stumble backwards. "Now let's hear it! What are you doing going after that janitor!"

"You don't need to know!" the Bulb Ganma retorted, firing another volley of electric bolts.

Ghost grunted and rolled out of the way, taking aim again and firing more shots. The bullets went wide, allowing the Ganma some room to dodge, allowing it to run for some cover, "Hah! Your aim sucks!"

"Oh shut up!" Ghost grunted, running for the hiding Ganma. The weapon disassembled and became a sword once again, making for a much more comfortable method of fighting for Ghost.

"Back off!" the Ganma retorted, standing up. Quite suddenly, it's dome-encased head flashed like a real lightbulb and sent a blast of light in all directions. Ghost cringed and shielded his eyes, fighting to get the glare out of them. The light was quick to dim and Ghost blinked to get the sparkles out of them. When he did, he realized that the Ganma was gone, fled using the flash as a means of escape.

"Aw crap," Ghost groaned.

* * *

 **Museum**

"Man, that was unexpected," the janitor groaned as he walked next to Orihime and Tatsuki, pushing his cart along. "I'll have to let my superiors know there's something wrong with the lighting if sparks just fly out like that."

"Uh...yeah, talk about bad luck," Tatsuki glanced at Orihime, mentally asking how they should break the subject of finding out why a Ganma was following the guy. THe busty young woman silently shrugged before going into deep thought.

"Bad luck. Seems to follow me wherever I go these days," the janitor sighed. "Put me near anything electric and it seems to fry."

"Really? Are you some kind of magnet?" asked Orihime innocently.

"Not last I checked," the janitor chuckled. "I'm just Kangae Ito, an engineering student and hopeful inventor."

"Well I'm Orihime Inoue, Karakura High student!" Orihime introduced cheerfully. "And ghost hunter extraordinaire!"

"Right," Tatsuki chuckled.

Kangae looked to Orihime and chuckled lightly, "Ghost hunter huh? Well, with the way my luck's been lately, maybe I am being haunted by something. That or I picked up some kind of bad luck curse."

"I'll say," Tatsuki nodded, although she knew he really was being haunted by a Ganma trying to influence him. "So it's been that weird you think ghosts or something are involved."

"When everything electrical I tried working with seemed to fry itself, yeah, I think it's something weird," Kangae shrugged. "At the rate I'm going, there's now way I'd be able to match some of the things that Thomas Edison did."

"Thomas Edison?" asked Orihime.

Kangae nodded with a grin, "Yup. My inspiration!" He gestured the two to follow him and they cut through a connecting hallway before they came to an American Industrialization-era exhibit. One of the exhibits had a number of old trinkets and inventions displayed inside a workshop with portrait of a man holding a lightbulb. "Thomas Edison, the man whose inventions revolutionized the world as we knew it then."

"Oh! He invented the lightbulb, right?" Orihime grinned.

"That's right," Kangae nodded, looking to the exhibit with inspiration. "Just one small invention helped change the world as we knew it. He made maybe a hundred inventions or so and became a legend not because of any kind of battle or great deed, but because of his mind and ingenuity. I want to be able to do that one day, invent something which can change the world."

"Wow!" Orihime gushed. "That's so cool!"

"Yeah," Tatsuki nodded, glancing at Kangae. Suddenly it became obvious why the Ganma was trying to influence the janitor. Could he be the key to another Eyecon?

"So this stuff actually belonged to the man?" asked Tatsuki, trying to gather intel.

"Yup," Kangae nodded. He pointed to the reproduced workbench where a wonky-looking lightbulg was set inside a socket of some kind. "See that lightbulb on the workbench? It's one of his prototypes. Doesn't work, but he built it himself."

"I see," Tatsuki nodded.

Orihime on the other hand seemed excited to have met an actual inventor, "So what kind of things do you invent Ito-san?"

"Oh, I've just cobbled together some little things. Nothing really groundshaking, just a few things which can be added to stuff we know now," he dug into his pocket and produced an I-phone in a case, but it seemed to have an attachment, a length of rubber ran across the top looking a little like a windshield wiper. "Like this. Touch phones and similar things like this can get gummed up pretty fast with finger oils and whatever's on them. So I whipped this up to keep from having to stop and clean the thing every so often. Just dampen the rubber part with cleaning solution and it can drag up and down the screen while attached to the casing."

"That's handy," Tatsuki nodded. "Looks a little bulky though."

"Yeah, I'm trying to make it smaller or fold into the casing, but so far most of the prototypes aren't very durable. They snap like twigs so I may need speciality parts which doesn't fit into my budget." Kangae pocketed his phone. "Lately though I've been getting an idea, but I don't like it."

"Oh? What idea?" asked Orihime.

Kangae pulled out a sheet of paper from another pocket, unfolding it to show a ring of machines connected by wires with a tower in the middle. They were all singular towers which looked like tesla coils. Tatsuki looked at it, wondering why the arrangement of the towers seemed to remind her of something, "So...what is it?"

Kangae shook his head, "That's the thing. I'm...not entirely sure. What it's supposed to do is create singular ring of energy through the outer towers, the energy overlapping itself to increase output. Once it reaches optimum output, it collects at the conductor in the middle to create a singular point."

"And then what happens?" asked Orihime.

"That's the part which gives me the willies," Kangae shrugged. "I don't know what's supposed to happen. I think it's supposed to be a self-sustaining power source. Just kickstart it with an outside source and once optimum output is achieved, it can keep itself running so long as the machinery is kept working...but…"

"But?" asked Tatsuki.

"Something about it bothers me. The process is stable, but part of the conductor tower in the middle makes me think that it's supposed to do something once it receives that power," Kangae explained. "It's constructed to receive power from the modules on the sides, not the tip. The tip looks like it's supposed to broadcast something."

"So it's supposed to send the energy somewhere?" Tatsuki pondered. She was martial artist, not an engineer so she was taking a lot of what Kangae was saying at face value. Still, she could get the gist of what he was pointing at.

"That's what I think, but I can't begin to guess where and I dreamed up the thing," Kangae nodded, folding the picture up and pocketing it. "I'm tempted like crazy to build it since it seems that for a little bit of power, it can generate a lot and can revolutionize the power industry. Still, unless I can figure out why it needs to broadcast, I don't want to tempt disaster."

' _Good thinking since that's probably exactly what that Ganma wants,_ ' Tatsuki thought to herself.

"Anyway, I'd better get back to work. I have to report that lighting to my boss" Kangae shrugged, taking hold of his cart. He waved to the two as he left, "Nice to meet you two."

"You too!" Orihime waved.

"Yeah," Tatsuki nodded. As Kangae turned a corner and vanished from sight, the martial artists looked to her friend, "Okay, we'd better frind Ichigo. Maybe he took out that Ganma so we can focus on maybe getting an Eyecon from this."

"Okay!"

* * *

 **Kurosaki Residence**

"So to review," Uryu commented as he, Chad, and the others sat at the kitchen table of the Kurosaki residence. "You spotted a Ganma trying to influence an engineering student who may or may not be the key to getting another Legendary Soul. Kurosaki fought the Ganma, but it escaped while you two may have sussed out why it was trying to influence that janitor into doing."

"You have to rub it in?" Ichigo frowned.

"Hey, focus," Tatsuki interjected. Looking to the group, she answered, "I think this Ganma is trying to influence this guy into building some kind of machine that's obviously going to help out the Ganma. It's supposed to have streams of energy overlap, making more energy, which would eventually be sent to a main tower and sent somewhere else."

"Then the receiving end would probably be something the Ganma want powered by such a machine," Uryu nodded. "Obviously this machine might have a different purpose than to just collect small amounts of energy and boost it."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed, "You think it may use a different source of power than just electricity?"

"Considering what designed it? Likely it's meant to do this with reiatsu or something similar and feed it to the Ganma for the purpose of empowering them," Uryu replied.

"And if this inventor gets into it, it might be enough to summon another legendary soul," Chad added his two cents.

"Well, he didn't seem to want to build it when we talked to him," Orihime shrugged.

"But that will likely change if we don't get that Ganma away from him," Uryu retorted. "We know where he works at least so we can head to the museum and hopefully find that Ganma again as well as learn details about that machine."

Ichigo crossed his arms, staring at the table, "One thing about this bugs me though. If there's a Ganma pulling this sort of thing, then it probably means that it's got buddies waiting in the wings. This isn't like Hollow attacks. The Ganma are organized enough to make a plan like this."

"Which means someone is pulling the strings," Chad nodded. "Someone who wants the Eyecons, but also have a bigger plan than just that."

"Sounds like you kids stepped in it this time."

The five teens blinked before a black cat hopped onto the table. All five of them blinked before four of them immediately recognised her. Although the cat itself didn't appear to be anything special, quite typical of the stray cats which could sometimes be seen in the district, the truth was far different. The cat was in fact the alternate form of one Yoruichi Shihoin, another former exiled Shinigami who ran with Urahara and helped during the Winter War.

"Yoruichi-san!" Orihime beamed.

"Hello Orihime," Yoruichi nodded before regarding everyone, "I came by to bring you all to see Urahara, but it seems like you're in the middle of another mess."

"Got that right," Ichigo nodded, massaging his brow. Being near Yoruichi in her cat form made him a little tense. The reason for that was there was a good chance she'd change back at a random moment. Ichigo's problem with that was that when she did, she'd be entirely naked and while he could be, according to some, a bit of a prude, even he couldn't escape the fact that the woman was a bronze goddess of feminimity. That just made it even more awkward since she liked to tease him about it. She was a great teacher, but an awful tease. "And when did you even get here?"

"Oh, I was just passing through," Yoruichi shrugged, or as well as a cat could anyway. "So you kids feel like going to the candy store or what?"

"Actually, speaking to Urahara might be helpful," Uryu spoke up. "We might have a bit of a technical question regarding this new situation."

"Right, that Ganma's machine," Chad agreed.

"Then my timing is perfect," Yoruichi grinned cattily.

"Right, whatever. Let's go," Ichigo sighed as he stood up, just knowing that the Shinigami scientist was going to aggravate his day even more.

As the others got up, Tatsuki had to blink in confusion, "Wait, so we're just ignoring that a cat is talking to us?"

* * *

 **University Dormitories**

Kangae heaved a sigh as he lay back in his dorm bedroom. The day had been stressful what with the lights exploding on top of the other things. His supervisor wasn't pleased about that and threatened to dock his pay for no reason. The man was a penny pincher to the extreme, always looking for a way to save cash since the museum always seemed to have funding issues in his opinion.

"Man, if my pay gets docked any more I may as well be working for free," the would-be inventor sighed.

Unbeknownst to the student, he wasn't alone in the room. Lounging in the corner was the Bulb Ganma, weary from having to fight off Ghost and running for its life. It had returned to Kangae's dorm and waited for him to return. So it was there when he began muttering to himself. Hearing him, it hopped to its feet and leaned over to Kangae's ear.

" _If you build the invention, you won't have to worry about money,_ " it whispered.

Kangae grunted and rolled over, "Jeez, why can't this idea leave me alone? I don't know what it even does!"

The Ganma heaved a sigh. Well crap, trust an engineering student to notice the details left out. Sighing, it polished it's helmet before suddenly getting an idea. Leaning over, it whispered, " _So just build one of them. A place out of the way where no one will find out. That way if anything goes wrong, no one has to get hurt or even know. That way you'll know what it does._ "

Kangae rolled over again, "Well, if I make one just out of the way where no one might get hurt. If we get the safety protocols right, maybe I can figure out what it does."

" _There you go,_ " the Ganma grinned, our what passed for one on the nearly featureless Ganma face. " _Then once you figure it out, then you can really let it take off!_ "

"Yeah, yeah, I can do this," Kangae got up and retrieved his cell phone, "Come on, come one, let's see if you guys want to help out. A lot of this stuff is pre made anyway. Just a few connectors and adjustments will finish it all up!"

The Bulb Ganma snickered at the sight, "About damn time."

* * *

 **Urahara Shoten**

"Welcome to my humble store!" one Kisuke Urahara grinned, sitting at the back of his unassuming store, fan waving in front of his face. He looked a little unassuming with his cane, geta, bucket hat, and unshaved face, but to anyone in the know the man was a Shinigami scientific genius.

Once he was the captain of the 12 Squad of the Gotei 13, the research and development division. He even managed to develop a device which could allow Shinigami to take on Hollow powers and vice-versa. However, after a group of Shinigami were hollowfied by one Sosuke Aizen, he was framed for the incidents and had to flee for his life along with his Vice-Captain Tessai. Fortunately, he knew Aizen was behind it and took the Hogyoku with him, setting back the man's plans for some time. Now with Aizen outed and imprisoned, Urahara had a clean slate although he had no intentions of going back.

"Hello Urahara-san!" Orihime bowed with a smile, the only polite greeting out of the group.

"Always a pleasure Orihime-chan!" Urahara grinned back. Greetings dealt out, he looked to Ichigo, "Been a while Ichigo my boy. Heard you've gotten yourself into a new mess. Although I hear it did give you back your powers."

"Something like that," Ichigo nodded. "Since you dragged us out here, you probably have something, right?"

Urahara's response was blunt, "Nope, not a thing!"

It took all of Ichigo's might not to facefault from that response. As it was, he lost his patience with the kooky ex-Shinigami and shouted, "Then what the hell did you call us out here for?!"

Urahara grinned. Setting off Ichigo was always fun, "Well, although I've never encountered anything like these Ganma and Eyecons you seem to be running into, that doesn't mean we can't research. I was actually hoping to see what you can do with your new equipment."

"You can do that later Kisuke," Yoruichi spoke up, walking past the group. "The kids have uncovered another Ganma and it seems to be hatching a plot of some kind with a machine. Your area of expertise."

"So it is," Urahara grinned, but the mischief was gone from his eyes. "Okay then kids, lay it on me. What's this machine the Ganma is gung-ho over?"

Tatsuki stepped forward, "Got a pen and paper? I need visuals to help explain this."

Tatsuki got the things she needed and explained what she could of the machine that Kangae was being influenced to build was like. Using the pen and paper, she made out the rough array of what the collection towers as part of the machine were laid out. Kisuke listened and went over what he knew in his mind. She also mentioned the suspicions that she and the others had with the machine supposed to transfer more than electricity for the Ganma's uses.

Finally, Urahara rubbed his chin, "Hmmm. Well, your suspicions do you credit. This machine is supposed to do more than just create an energy loop."

"We figured that," Uryu nodded. "What is it _supposed_ to do?"

The former Shinigami grinned grimly, "Simple. It's supposed to open a portal."

"It is?" Chad asked.

"Yes. You see, to open portals, one usually needs to create an array of energy which can feed in on itself and open the gateway we know. Seireitei and Hueco Mundo denizens have gotten so good at this, we can do it quite easily with either the right objects or even a few gestures. All it takes is the right patterns and enough spiritual energy," Urahara explained.

"Okay, so why does this one need to use electricity?" asked Ichigo.

"Well, normally it would use electricity if what Tatsuki-chan says is correct, and in a normal town this thing would just be a revolutionary means of producing energy with just a few adjustments unless I miss my guess," Urahara answered.

"But Karakura is far from ordinary, what with all the spirit particles in the air," Uryu frowned, catching onto Urahara's train of thought. "No doubt they'd get drawn into the machine through some mechanism and it would loop that power instead of electricity."

"Bingo!" Urahara nodded.

"Okay, that answers what this thing is supposed to do," Ichigo crossed his arms with a scowl. "But if this thing is supposed to open a portal, then where is it supposed to go?"

Urahara shook his head, "That I can't tell you. I haven't seen an array like this before. But considering that a Ganma was the one who dreamed this up, I'd wager it's a portal to wherever it is the Ganma come from."

"And likely a way for more of them to come here," Chad frowned.

"Crap," Ichigo scowled. "Now we _have_ to go find this guy. If he caves in and builds this thing…"

"We may be looking at a Ganma invasion," Uryu finished with a frown.

Chills ran down everyone's spines at that comment.

* * *

The group didn't bother to wait for the next day to try and find Kangae again. The stakes were now too high to play things easy. Abruptly leaving the Urahara Shoten, the group went straight for the museum again to try and find the would-be inventor. After arriving, they split up to try and find him. Tatsuki mentioned Kangae's hero worship of Thomas Edison so Ichigo headed in the direction of that exhibit.

Ichigo dashed through the halls. Normally a security guard might have stopped him, but Ichigo managed to plan ahead. By keeping calm, he changed to his soul form and was able to go straight to the exhibit, passing through walls and a few other exhibits in the process, literally.

Finally, he phased through a wall and came out into the Thomas Edison exhibit. Ending his concentration, he allowed himself to become solid again, "Okay, where are you Kangae?"

"Eh? Crap, not you again!"

Ichigo spun around and blinked when he spied the Bulb Ganma inside the Thomas Edison exhibit. It was heading for the workbench when Ichigo had interrupted it. Seeing it surprised, Ichigo quickly grabbed his Ore Eyecon and summoned the GhostDriver.

"Oh not this time!" the Ganma shouted, dashing for the bulb and yanking it, base and all, from the bench. Of course, this had the added effect of setting off an alarm, causing loud sirens to go off and red emergency lights beginning to flare up.

"Shit," Ichigo cursed as the Ganma began to run again. He quickly activated his Ore Eyecon.

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

"Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

As the armored formed and the Parka Ghost emerged to settle on Ghost's shoulders, a security guard chose that exact moment to enter the exhibit to check the alarms. His eyes landed on Ghost and he moved to grab his stun baton. However, in that moment, Ghosts' powers took hold and he faded out of sight. The guard began to gape at the sight, thinking he might be going crazy.

"Ghost!" he cried out, turning around and beginning to run.

"No duh," Ghost muttered before he dashed in the direction of the Bulb Ganma, phasing through the walls. He quickly phased through to the outside, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. Looking around, he spotted the Ganma easily enough. It was impossible not to since the monster was skating along electric lines like it was on roller blades. It was also kicking up a hell of an electrical storm as it went, making for a bit of a lightshow.

"Crap," Ghost groaned. "Yurusen, I need the bike again!"

*POOF!*

"You got it!" the tiny ghost cackled as it appeared. "Machine Ghostriker!"

The portal opened and the possessed motorcycle emerged. Ghost was quick to mount it as he took off following the Ganma. He didn't bother trying to shoot it down. He knew the thing stole a portion of the Edison exhibit for a reason. Where ti was going, the Kamen Rider was pretty sure that it was running straight for where either Kangae was, or where it was trying to get the damn portal machine built.

' _Let it run,_ ' Ghost thought to himself as he phased through a delivery truck. ' _I can keep up._ '

The chase went through several streets before coming up to the warehouse district. Ichigo knew the area well since some of the odd jobs he and his boss went out on ended up delivering stuff to or from one warehouse or another. Other times he was just security since some gangs liked to squat there to look like they were tough. There were plenty of places to hide and plenty of empty warehouses to do it in.

The Ganma didn't really try to cover its tracks. Instead, it leaped from the power lines and over the gates before dashing between the rows of warehouses. Ghost narrowed his eyes and followed, phasing through the security gates with the guard none the wiser. Coming to a stop in the rows, Ghost dismounted and looked around for a clue.

"Okay you goofy-looking thing, where did you run?" Ghost asked himself, drawing his Gan Gun Saber.

*KZZZT-KZZZT-KZZZT!"

"Ow! Jeez!"

Hearing the noise, Ghost dashed to the source, finding one of the warehouses opened with activity going on inside. He stopped when he spied a number of tesla coils mounted on black bases circled around an even taller one, all of them humming with activity. Thick power cables were connecting all the machines together while the one in the middle looked like it was put together in a rush job with not much more than a few welds, insulating tape, and heavy prayers holding it together.

"The hell? How the heck did he build the damn thing so fast?" Ghost questioned.

Movement at the back of the warehouse brought Ghost's attention to where he saw someone, likely Kangae who Tatsuki and Orihime met, working at a control panel, apparently fitting in the last cables to get the thing working. He was muttering to himself, not paying much attention to the world around him.

"Okay, plugged in and ready to rock," he nodded, standing up. "Well, so either we're about to blow out the circuit breakers for the entire area or we're about to save a whole lot of people on their electric bills."

Behind him, the Bulb Ganma was watching smugly. Next to him, the stolen prototype lightbulb was settled on a small table. Although it never worked and it had no power flowing into it, it was starting to give off a faint yellow glow. That caused Ghost to stiffen in alarm. No doubt the Ganma planned to sacrifice Kangae to make a Legendary Soul appear.

"Here we go!" Kangae announced, reaching for a switch.

"Yes!" the Bulb Ganma cheered.

"No!" Ghost shouted, running to stop the misguided inventor.

He never even got close.

*click*

*WHOOOM!*

The machine came to life with a roar, forcing Ghost to stumble back while shielding his eyes. The surrounding towers immediately sparked with electricity before blue particles began to appear in the air. Ghost could immediately tell what they were spirit particles. The natural spiritual energy which hung in the air. They became visible likely due to the nature of the electric charge the machine was giving off.

The particles hung in the air for a moment before being drawn to the surrounding towers, causing blue spheres of energy to collect at the top. Once the orbs had grown large enough, they began leaping from one tower to the next at increasing speed, causing a ring of blue energy to surround the main tower. Once the ring had enough speed, streams of energy began connecting to the main tower before the top shot a stream of electrified spirit particles straight into the air, blowing a hole in the roof in the process.

"Woah!" Kagnae cried out in shock. "Oh holy cow!"

"Ah ha! Finally! Now we can begin the campaign!" the Bulb Ganma cheered, watching the spectacle.

Ghost dashed back outside to see what had happened and spied the stream of energy shooting into the air. Once it was high enough, it impacted...something, and seemed to form a black cloud in the air. In the centre of it a glowing purple eye symbol with slash marks on it opened up, blinking down at the area below it.

A pop announced Yurusen's arrival, the tiny ghost looking very worried, "Oooooh, this is bad! Very bad! REALLY bad!"

"As bad as I think it is?" asked Ghost, not breaking eye contact with the portal.

"It's a portal to the Ganma Realm!" Yurusen cried. "If that stays open, they're going to notice and start invading this world like a horde!"

"Ah dammit," Ghost hissed, "Okay, so how do I close it?"

"We need to get higher! Then pull the handle for the GhostDriver four times and then let it rip!"

"Fine!" Ghost nodded, moving to get higher.

He was stopped when Kangae came running out of the building to see what the machine had done. However, thanks to his lack of spiritual sight, all he could see of the Ganma portal was a black cloud. He was unable to see the eye symbol hanging in the sky.

He gave a low whistle, "So it affects the weather? Man, I'll have to look into more research on this thing?"

"Oh, your bit is already done," the Bulb Ganma announced, stepping out of the warehouse while holding the prototype light bulb. The item was now glowing a bright yellow, showing that it was ready to be used to summon a Legendary Soul. Cackling, the Ganma lifted a hand which crackled with electricity, "Now just give up your life for the might of the Ganma!"

"Oh no you don't!" Ghost roared, pushing himself off the ground with a burst of spiritual power. He was on the Ganma's case in a heartbeat, taking it by surprise before slashing it across the torso. It screamed in surprise and pain, knocked back while it dropped Edison's light bulb. Fortunately it landed on the base, protecting the bulb itself from being shattered.

Ghost Looked to where the Ganma writhed on the round before looking to the light bulb. Figuring the Ganma would keep, he kneeled down to the light bulb before channeling his power into his fingertips. He quickly drew the eye symbol over the lightbulb before finishing with the pupil in a tap.

The item responded immediately, vanishing in a haze of yellow smoke. The smoke then drifted into the air before a new Parka Ghost emerged. This one was a silver jacket with yellow accenting. On the head were a pair of antennae like a machine would sport while the buttons on the jacket looked like bolts. Coming from on top of the sleeves were metal cords with yellow disks on the ends, acting as arms for the Parka Ghost. Inside the hood, a pair of sparking yellow eyes glowed.

" _Well, what do we have here?_ " asked the Parka Ghost, hovering closer to Ghost. " _Was it you who called me out?_ "

"Yes sir," Ghost nodded. "Um, Professor Thomas Edison?"

" _The one and only!_ " the Edison Parka Ghost chuckled. " _So what has my afterlife crossing paths with yours?_ "

"Well," Ghost began, but then saw movement behind Edison. "Look out!"

" _Pardon?_ " Edison turned, but saw the Ganma leaping at it. " _My word!_ "

"Itadakimasu!" the Ganma cackled, wrapping its arms around Edison. Both vanished in a haze of black smoke which swelled to monstrous proportions. The smoke ended quickly, revealing a giant lightbulb with a snarling face made of electric voltage. Coming out of the bottom of the bulb like octopus tentacles were snapping wires, each sparking with electric voltage.

"Holy shit!" Ghost cried before the Big Bulb Ganma lashed out with a buzzing snarl. He grabbed Kangae, who yelled in surprise, before they avoided the ground being broken by the force of the blow.

Kangae naturally panicked and raced for what he thought was the safety of the warehouse. Ghost shook his head and watched as the Big Bulb Ganma took to the skies, eyes trained on the portal to its home realm.

"What the hell just happened?!" Ghost shouted to Yurusen.

"This is why you just grab Legendary Souls instead of chatting with them!" Yurusen snapped back, getting into Ghost's face. "And this is what happens when a Ganma gets its hands on a Legendary Soul! They get stronger! Now it's going to try and make that portal bigger so even more Ganma can invade!"

"Well quit yelling at me and tell me what to do!" Ghost snapped back.

"Oh, fine!" Yurusen grumbled. "Captain Ghost!"

Another portal, this one with Ghost's design, opened. Emerging from it came the form of another vehicle, but this one taking the form of a galleon with ragged sails. It had a shark-like face on the front and even had scaly green arms hanging from the sides, making it look like some kind of ghoulish ghost ship.

"Huh?" Ghost blinked as the ship hovered down next to him.

"Here, Captain Ghost can help," Yurusen explained. "Just get on Machine Ghostriker and they'll do the rest!"

"Fine," Ghost nodded before he looked to the direction of the gates, "Hey, Ghostriker, let's go!"

A neigh and engine roar announced the arrival of the machine, driving itself to the scene of the fight. Ghost was quick to get on before both Rider and machine began roaring after the Big Bulb Ganma. Captain Ghost quickly followed, keeping the pace well for an old ghost ship.

Ghost moved to turn, but found his machine unresponsive. He almost began shouting before he saw Captain Ghost beginning to transform. The front point of the ship and the deck lifted up, folding the sails flat against it. The back cabin of the ship split apart before forming into a pair of scaly green legs. The flattened deck and sails folded back, becoming a tail. Meanwhile, from inside the ship an iguana's head folded out, covering the front and forming a new body. Machine Ghostriker gave a roar before leaping, causing Ghost to yelp, before landing in the machine's back, making the backbone and bringing the machine to life with a reptillian hiss.

This was the Iguana Ghostriker!

"Woah!" Ghost cried before the Iguana Ghostriker launched itself, sticking to the wall of a warehouse before leaping again and landing on top of another. It had the Big Bulb Ganma in its sights, the beats heading for the Ganma Portal with its tendrils glowing.

With another hiss, the gestalt reared back its head before launching it's tounge, wrapping around the Ganma's head, causing it to shriek in surprise. Another tug had Iguana Ghostriker pull back, bringing the Ganma down before a casual flick had the tongue roll back and sending the Ganma tumbling through the air.

"Hey, not bad," Ghost nodded. "Okay, you can go by yourself then? I need to close that portal!"

Iguana Ghostriker gave an affirmative hiss.

"Good. Good luck out there," Ghost nodded, leaping from the machine's back. Iguana Ghostriker gave a similar hiss before leaping away top fight the Ganma.

Ghost leaped over several rooftops before he landed underneath the Ganma portal. The eye looked sleepy, like it hadn't opened all the way yet. Ghost just hoped that it meant that the portal wasn't truly open yet and that the Ganma weren't already leaking through.

"Okay, let's do this," Ghost nodded, grabbing the handle of the Ghostdriver.

"Hey you!"

Ghost blinked and turned before spotting the familiar black robes of a Shinigami with a zanpakuto on his waist. He was a muscled type of guy, but his most obvious trait was his brown hair combed into an afro and his thick eyebrows. Other than that, he didn't stand out too much.

His name was Zennosuke Kurumadani, the Shinigami who was in charge of Krakura and keeping it safe. Ghost frankly thought the guy was a bit of a loser. He considered himself such an elite when he really was more or less average in the overall rankings. He didn't even have his Bankai. The guy also whined now and then about how he wasn't able to get any good fights since all of the spiritually aware in town were killing the Hollows before he could get in on the action. Ichigo and his friends figured Karakura was a dumping ground for the officers that were too annoying in the Gotei 13 and needed to keep them out of the way. At least the guy was dedicated, something he showed off when he tried to protect Karakura from Aizen during the Winter War.

"Oh not you again," Ghost groaned at the sigh tof the man.

"Shut up! Don't mouth off to an elite like me!" Zennosuke shouted at Ghost. "Now start talking! What the heck is this portal doing in my turf? What are those two monsters fighting over there? I know you're responsible for this!"

"I am not!" Ghost snapped back. "I'm just the guy cleaning up the mess!"

"Oh no way! I'm not believing that!" Zennosuke retorted, grabbing the handle of his sword. "So if you don't want to talk, then you're just going to have to fight me!"

"Huh? You're not even going to wait for an answer?!" Ghost cried incredulously.

"Here I coooooooome!" Zennosuke roared, charging for Ghost while drawing his sword.

*WHAM!*

What he got was a punch in the face which put him down with birds whirling around his head. Scoffing, Ghost looked up to the portal which was growing even wider. Grabbing the handle to the GhostDriver again, he gave it four sharp tugs to activate it.

" **DAIKAIGAN!** **OMEDAMA!** "

A flash of orange light summoned up a giant Ghost Eyecon made of orange positive energy. Quickly getting the gist of what he needed to do, Ghost gave the construct a giant kick before it was launched straight up at the Ganma portal. It collided with eash, causing a blast of orange power which caused the portal to crackle and sizzle before the purple eye closed and vanished, disappating the black cloud it was situated in.

"Huh, that was easy," Ghost nodded. He almost never had an easy task like that.

"Ow," Zennosuke groaned, sitting up while rubbing his head. "What hit me?"

"I did," Ghost answered, causing the Shinigami to turn to him. The man yelped and was on his feet in a second, reaching for his sword again, "Oh come on!"

"You hit me! You're an enemy!" Zennosuke snapped, readying for another fight.

"Oh shut up!" Ghost snapped back. "I'm not an enemy and the reason I hit you is because you were getting in my way! Now if you want to help, then let's go fight that damn Ganma!"

"Ganma?" Zennosuke blinked.

An explosion rocked the area before a ball of flames signaled where the fight was going on. Ghost turned and dashed for the scene. Zennosuke, although confused, saw that there was a fight going on he needed to be part of and thus followed. They came upon the scene as the Iguana Ghostriker and the Big Bulb Ganma smashed through a building with electric sparks and slashes cracking off of each other.

"So...which one's the Ganma?" asked Zennosuke.

"The one that looks like a damn lightbulb," Ghost replied, recalling the Gan Gun Saber. "Now let's do this!"

Both men leaped to the ground and charged, coming up to the Ganma as it was distracted by machine and slashing it hard and fast. Sparks flew from the impact, causing the Ganma to screech before it lashed out with its tentacles, shooting electric voltage in all directions.

"Woah!" Zennosuke cried, leaping back. "Man, this thing's nasty!"

"No kidding," Ghost grunted. "Hey, your Shikai can move the earth and stuff, right? Use that to pin it down and get it grounded so it can't shock us!"

Zennosuke's eyes widened, "How'd you know about my Shikai?! That's supposed to be for Shinigami only!"

"Oh just do it!" Ghost snapped at the unreliable Shinigami.

"Fine!" Zennosuke growled before he lifted his sword, " **Good Morning, Tsuchinamazu!** "

Zennosuke's sword flashed before it changed into a wind and fire wheel, a traditional bladed ring with a handle in it for Zennosuke to hold. Length of ribbon fell on either side of the handle and each had a bell on the end. Not a bad weapon, but not one expected of such a self-proclaimed elite like Zennosuke would be expected to hold.

"Here we go!" Zennosuke roared, slamming his blade into the ground. The ground immediately cracked and split before chunks of it rose into the air. With a wave of his weapon, Zennosuke threw the chunks straight at the Big Bulb Ganma. Distracted as it was, the hapless Shinigami's attack struck, bashing the Ganma several times over while many of its tentacles got binned, sparking out thanks to being grounded by the rocks. The Big Bulb Ganma shrieked in pain and struggled, but it wasn't made for stringth and was pinned easily.

"Ha! There's that elite force for you!" Zennosuke gloated proudly.

"Huh. You came in handy for a change," Ghost shrugged. "Okay, Iguana Ghostriker, finish this!"

The machine beast roared before leaping onto a building before leaping again into the air above the Ganma. It curled into a ball before spinning at high speeds. Gravity did the rest and sent it crashing back down. It collided with the Ganma, smashing into its body and practically sawing through it in the process. It gave a final shriek before exploding, throwing flames in all directions. From the top of it, Captain Ghost flew from the flames before vanishing while Machine Ghostriker came from the side, coming to a rumbling stop.

"YEAH! Who's da man? I da man! Whooo!" Zennosuke cheered as the beast exploded, celebrating as if he were the one who had destroyed the Ganma. Well, he did have a hand in it so the celebration wasn't completely without merit.

"WAUGH!"

Ghost stiffened when he saw the Bulb Ganma emerge from the flames, wobbly and disoriented from the explosion. Ghost prepared to go after it to finish it off, but that was before he saw something else stumbling out from the haze. "Edison!"

" _Wooo,_ " the Parka Ghost mumbled as Ghost dashed over to him. Shaking his head, Edison looked to Ghost, " _What in God's name was that?_ "

"One of the things I was trying to protect souls like you from," Ghost sighed.

" _I see. Well then, let's not let that beast interrupt us again. I'm just an inventor, but what power I have is yours!_ " Edison then swooped for Ghost, getting drawn inside the GhostDriver. Ghost then held his hand in front of it, allowing a new Eyecon, this one with a yellow casing, to appear in his hand.

"Thanks," Ghost nodded before he looked to where the Ganma was back on its feet again.

"Y-Y-You brat! Do you know what you've just done?!" it shouted out in fury.

"Yeah, ruined a plan by the looks of it," Ghost nodded before he opened the GhostDriver and retrieved his Ore Eyecon. His Ore Damashii vanished, allowing him to activate the Edison Eyecon as the pupil spun to show a sizable 02, "Now I'm taking _you_ down!"

Ghost inserted the new Eyecon before shutting the Driver and pulling the handle.

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

He pushed the handle back in, opening up the GhostDriver's eye.

" **KAIGAN! EDISON!** **EREKI! HIRAMEKI! HATSUMEI-O~!** "

The Edison Parka Ghost reappeared before swooping around Ghost and settling down on his form like the others did. His 'arms' folded up onto Ghost's shoulders, becoming shoulder pads while the faceplate lifted to show a yellow lightbulb emblem. A blast of electric sparks completed the transformation.

"Grrr! I won't lose like this!" the Bulb Ganma bellowed, conjuring up more voltage in its hands. "The prince will forgive me if I present him with your Eyecons!"

The Ganma fired off several bolts of electricty, impacting the area around Ghost, causing small explosions with each strike. Zennosuke yelped and dove out of the way, but Ghost himself didn't move. Instead, he just stood there. The Ganma snarled and took more careful aim. The next barrage looked like it would hit, but then suddenly got redirected to the antennae on Ghost's hood, getting absrobed into his body.

"Thomas Edison didn't just invent a ridiculous number of things," Ghost commented as he drew the Gan Gun Sabre. He removed one side of the blade before spinning it around. "While he didn't discover electricity like Benjamin Franklin did," he inserted the blade in reverse. "Or harness it like Nikola Tesla," he shifted the handle, completing the gun transformation. "What he did was tame electricity, revolutionizing the way people lived their lives!"

"Gh! Why isn't it hurting you?!" the Ganma shouted angrily.

"Didn't I just say? He _tamed_ electricity and now so can I!" Ghost called before lowering the Gan Gun Sabre to his Driver.

" **DAIKAIGAN! OMEGA SHOOT!** "

Ghost lifted his gun and took careful aim. Behind him, his eye sigil appeared, generating supernaturally charged bolts of electricity thanks to the power of Edison's soul. It traveled through his body and into his arm before resided in his weapon, charging inside the barrel.

The Bulb Ganma stopped attacking and gulped. Seeing no other course, it turned around to flee. Ghost didn't give it the chance as he fired a single shot. It blasted through the air as a sphere of supernatural thunder, striking the Ganma square in the back. It shrieked as the attack struck, bringing out a blast of black sludge as it burned through its body. It's Bulb Parka Ghost slipped off and hovered away, leaving only the Primal Ganma before both exploded in a haze of fire.

From the flames dropped a single commercial light bulb which shattered on the ground. Next to it fell a Ganma Eyecon which likewise broke apart.

Ghost took in a deep breath of air as he shouldered the Gan Gun Saber. Unbeknownst to him, he was being watched. Once again, it was the young man Alain and his mysterious follower with the crooked teeth. Both were yards away, easily hidden by the chaos of the scene.

"Another Eyecon out of our hands," Alain frowned.

"Hardly. Just out of our reach for the moment. We know where two Eyecons are now. We'll let him collect them before taking them for ourselves," the mysterious man countered, smiling with his crooked teeth.

* * *

 **Kurosaki Residence**

"Wow! You did it Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime cheered as she and the group of friends met back at Ichigo's house to compare notes.

"Thomas Edison himself," Uryu admired, looking at the yellow Eyecon in his hand. "I suppose more than just warriors would count as a Legendary Soul."

"Two down and thirteen to go," Chad nodded, smiling at the victory.

"We're making good time if you ask me," Tatsuki grinned. "I mean, two in only eight days? If this keeps up we'll have all fifteen long before the ninety-nine days are up!"

"With any luck," Ichigo nodded, feeling a little sore from the fight, but the rush of winning the day did bring a grin to his lips.

"So what happened to Kangae anyway?" asked Tatsuki, resting her chin in her hands. "Was he okay after that whole mess?"

"Well, he seemed okay. He was dismantling the damn machine when I left him," Ichigo shrugged. "I think he's going to keep at the power portion of the thing if what I heard him mumbling about was right. So he won't accidentally open another portal to the Ganma Realm."

"That's a relief," Orihime smiled. "He's a nice guy and doesn't deerve those Ganma mixing him up with their schemes."

Ichigo nodded before pocketing the Edison Eyecon. He opened his mouth to speak again, but Yuzu chose that exact moment to come barelling into the room, "Ichi-nii! You gotta come quick! You're on TV!"

"What?" Ichigo blinked. The group quickly relocated to the living room where the television set was broadcasting a breaking news story.

" _This just in, a robbery at the Karakura museum! Just today, a masked intruder broke into the Karakura Museum of World History and stole a relic from one of the exhibits. The museum spokesperson reprots that it was a prototype lightbulb which was built by Thomas Edison. Although not valuable in monetary terms compared to some relics, it's cultural and historical significance is incredibly high. Experts believe that this theft was done by a professional hired thief on behalf of a collector or black market salesman._ "

"Well, it's better than people believing the Ganma did it," Ichigo shrugged, not seeing how it could be connected to him. At least people weren't going nuts thinking that invisible monsters were among them...which they were.

"Wait for it," Yuzu fretted.

" _One security guard did catch a glimpse of the thief before he vanished, theorized to be using some kind of light bending technology to enhance his stealth abilities. A sketch artist was able to render this composite sketch._ "

The image changed and on a piece of paper came a rough drawing of Ghost himself. There were a few imperfections, things which didn't match to Ghost himself, but the identification was obvious. The one that the police were blaming for the theft of Edison's light bulb was Kamen Rider Ghost.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ichigo roared.

 **90 Days Remain...**

To Be Continued…

* * *

 _Next time on Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached_

 _Ichigo: I don't believe this! The cops are after me now?!_

 _Uryu: With how you fight the delinquent crowd, it was only a matter of time._

 _Ichigo: Urusei!_

 _Orihime: Kurosaki-kun's a fugitive !*sniff!*_

 _Chad: Seems another thief is using you for cover._

 _?: It's the only way to help these people!_

 _ **Hello! Arrow! Mori de Aou!**_

 _ **Next Time: Rebellious Spirit!**_

 _Yuzu: Please look forward to it!_

* * *

 **CHECK IT OUT! OMAKE CORNER!**

 **PARKA GHOST PARADE!**

 **Edison Damashii**

This is the soul of Thomas Edison made into a Parka Ghost. In this form, Ghost loses some of his punching, kicking, and jumping ability simply because Edison was an inventor, not some kind of legendary warrior. However, as someone whose legend ties in so close to an elemental force, namely electricity, Ghost is utterly immune to electric attacks in this form. Furthermore, he can harness wild electricity in the air to use for himself and channel it into his attacks. In this form, Ghost relies on the Gan Gun Saber in its gun form since Edison had no talent in the martial arts. He did know how to shoot a gun though, so this allows Ghost more combat ability against the Ganma.


	4. Rebellious Spirit

I do not own Kamen Rider Ghost or Bleach. They belong to their respective creators and not me. I am only writing this for fun and not for any kind of profit. If you do not like this story then please go elsewhere for something more to your taste. For those of you who remain, please enjoy.

 **Kamen Rider Ghost: Bleached**

 **By Ten-Faced Paladin**

 **Chapter 4: Rebellious Spirit**

 **88 Days Remain…**

Ichigo wasn't one to be called the cheeriest of characters on his best days. He wasn't grim and could chuckle at a joke and generally be happy. It was just more often than not he was forced to deal with people and situations which pissed him off, making a scowl more of his default look to the community at large. With recent events though, Ichigo was finding his scowl going deeper than before.

Since Ghost was being blamed for the theft of Edison's lightbulb, the police were gunning for the 'thief' and return the piece of world history. On the bright side, it really cut down on the number of delinquents looking for trouble since they were all smart enough to avoid trouble with the cops. On the downside, since Ichigo's hair was orange, more than one cop stopped him to ask a few pointed questions, thinking he looked shifty. Ichigo certainly didn't appreciate being singled out on account of his hair, but he was used to it since punks and teachers did it all the time. Besides, Ichigo knew better than to mouth off at cops. A lesson Oshima learned the hard way when his mouth ran faster than his brain did when a cop wanted to talk to him.

That day, Ichigo was heading to Urahara's store. Since the initial excitement had cooled a little, Urahara called Ichigo in so they could talk. With only eighty-eight days of life left, Ichigo silently hoped Urahara wouldn't jerk him around again. TIme was of the essence, but Urahara had a way of getting under his skin at a speed only Isshin could do. They probably took lessons from each other for that.

Ichigo turned the corner and saw the familiar candy shop. Mentally preparing himself, he approached the door. The store was open so he simply pulled open the door with a call of "Yo."

"Oh, hello Kurosaki-san," the rather timid Ururu, one of Urahara's two wards welcomed. She was busy sweeping up the store, looking not so timid for a change. "Urahara-san and your friends are downstairs."

"Okay. Thanks Ururu," Ichigo nodded, getting the girl to preen a little in satisfaction at helping.

Ichigo knew the layout of the store and quickly moved to a set of stairs which moved to the basement. Coming to the bottom of it though, it was anything but a basement. A massive expanse of canyonlands and blue sky met Ichigo as he stepped out into the sun. He didn't pay it much mind since he'd been there many times before. Still, he felt a little nostalgic for being able to step back into the world he thought he'd left behind.

"Ah, Ichigo, welcome!" Urahara greeted from where he sat on a rock. With him were Ichigo's friends, likewise seated. "We weren't sure if you were going to make it!"

"I'm here," Ichigo shrugged. "So what's this all about?"

"Well, your friends have been getting me up to date on these nasty little Ganma and the Eyecons they seem to be searching all over for," Urahara explained. "By the way, congratulations on your latest acquisition. Thomas Edison himself eh? Not bad."

"Uh-huh," Ichigo nodded. Silently he just wanted Urahara to hurry up and talk about why he'd been called.

"We were discussing what the Ganma are really up to," Uryu chimed in. "Obviously one of their main goals are Legendary Soul Eyecons, but this last one seemed to have a different goal in mind. That one wanted to open a portal into the Ganma world and likely begin an invasion."

"Looked that way," Ichigo shrugged, approaching his friends. "The one I fought mentioned something about a prince."

"Ah, so there is someone in charge unlike the Hollows who go all willy nilly," Urahara rubbed his chin. "That means these incursions so far weren't random, but organized."

"So are they planning to invade?" wondered Chad.

"Man, not again," Keigo groaned. "Didn't we get enough invasion crap with that Aizen guy?"

"Apparently not," Mizuiro shrugged calmly.

"Okay, so what do we do now then?" asked Tatsuki. "We still have to find more Eyecons to save Strawberry here."

"Oi!"

Tatsuki didn't even acknowledge the offended shout, "But now we have to play counter-invasion or something with the rest of the Ganma running around?"

"We may have to," Uryu nodded. "But there is something else to consider."

"And what's that?" asked Ichigo.

"Zennosuke helped you fight the last Ganma," Uryu explained. "As unreliable as he is, even he knows that he has to follow orders. Something extremely unusual happened on his watch and it was certainly not a Hollow. If he has any kind of competence, then he is going to make a report about it to Seireitei."

"Which means the other Shinigami might get involved," Ichigo realized, honestly a little unsure of how he felt about that. On one hand, it would be great to see Rukia, Renji, and some of the others again. On the other, he didn't want to drag them into his problems.

"But that's good! Isn't it?" asked Orihime.

"Depending who they send," Uryu shrugged. "If it is one of our friends then we'll have extra help. But if it is someone else, they may end up making the situation worse. Worst case scenario, the Shinigami they send may end up trying to harness the Ganma for themselves or Seireitei."

"Yeah," Ichigo winced. A lot of Shinigami in the past, in his experience, kept turning traitor due to some crap Seireitei pulled on them or someone they cared about. That, or they were just greedy for power in the first place. Then they would turn to some twisted or forbidden power to help them do it.

It was funny, most of those problems started because of the Central 46 and their policy of 'kill anything that makes us look bad'. Funny how that kept biting them in the ass, wasn't it?

"Well, you know what they say: hope for the best but plan for the worst," Urahara shrugged, apparently unbothered by such an insinuation. "Speaking of, Ichigo, how about you strap on that spiffy new armor of yours and let's put it through the paces, hm?"

Ichigo sighed, watching as his friends got up and backed away. Urahara on the other hand stood up and drew his hidden zanpakuto, Benihime. Shaking his head, Ichigo summoned his GhostDriver. He then plucked up his Ore Eyecon from his pocket, "Fine."

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

"Batchiriminna! Batchiriminna! Batchiriminna!" Orihime suddenly broke out into song, bobbing her head to the same beat. The group of friends all turned to her as she sang before she realized she was singing out loud, "Um...it's catchy!"

"That it is!" Urahara grinned.

Ichigo scowled, knowing he was being mocked, "Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

The armor formed over Ichigo, transforming him into Ghost before the Ore Damashii rested on his shoulders, completing the change. Pulling down his hood, Ghost summoned the Gan Gun Saber in its basic form and took a stance.

"We doing this or what?" he asked impatiently.

"Then here I come!" Urahara grinned, vanishing into a shunpo.

Ghost raised his blade and there was a clash of sparks as Urahara reappeared from his speed technique, his sword pressed against Ghost's. They held it for a moment before Ghost broke the standoff and the two began slashing at one another, eliciting more sparks as their weapons clashed.

"Hmmm," Urahara nodded as the fight progressed. He wasn't taking the fight seriously. He hadn't even activated his Shikai to be honest. It was just putting Ichigo through his paces to see how the armor helped or hindered his abilities. Another clash separated the two as they hopped away from each other.

"I see, I see," Urahara nodded. "I'm rather impressed. I'd say you're a good deal similar to how strong you were after your infamous raid into Seireitei. Not quite Winter War level, but with time you may get back there. Not as much range or speed as you used to have, but still good."

"Thanks," Ghost huffed. "Now what?"

Urahara's grin came back, "Now, you use one of those Eyecons and we'll see how that changes."

"Whatever," Ghost grunted, drawing his Musashi Eyecon.

" **EYE! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

" **KAIGAN! MUSASHI! KETTO! ZUBATTO! CHOKENGO!** "

The red Parka Ghost replaced the Ore Damashii, changing Ghost's appearance while his new faceplate slid into place. The Gan Gun Saber reacted and split into its twin katana mode, allowing Ghost to take a Nito-Ryu stance. Urahara's eye rose at the sight since as far as he knew, Ichigo didn't know any dual-wielding techniques. Making a note of it, he charged for Ghost once again, sword ready for another strike.

The two clashed once again and Urahara noticed a very different style of fighting, one oriented in skill although it still had Ichigo's power behind it. Ichigo was strong and skilled, but all of his fighting ability came from experience and instinct, no formal training at all. As Ghost and using the Musashi Damashii, Urahara was now noticing a perfect use of the Nito-Ryu and it was forcing him to get a little more serious in the process.

"Now _this_ is interesting!" Urahara grinned, dodging a strike before blocking another. Parrying it, he leaped back again. "Your friends said as much, but you truly are channeling Musashi's abilities through that Eyecon, aren't you?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Ichigo nodded.

"Hm, channeling isn't new, but I have to admit this is a whole new level," Urahara rubbed his chin again. Usually channeling involved a medium allowing a spirit to speak through them. A person using a spirit's abilities usually meant a possession. Ghost on the other hand was a perfect fusion of the two extremes. He was using all of Musashi's skills, but he was completely in control of himself.

' _The research!_ ' Urahara thought giddily. "Okay, now Edison if you don't mind."

"Fine," Ichigo nodded, removing the Musashi Eyecon and revealing the Edison Eyecon.

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

" **KAIGAN! EDISON!** **EREKI! HIRAMEKI! HATSUMEI-O~!** "

Red was swapped with yellow as the yellow and silver Parka Ghost came to a rest on Ghost's shoulders, bringing up the lightbulb face. Again the Gan Gun Saber transformed in accordance to Ghost's form, taking on the gun configuration which he held confidently.

"Oh? A gun?" Urahara tilted his head. "That's a new one for you Ichigo."

"Yeah, I'm not great at it, but at least with this form I can hit what I shoot at," Ghost shrugged.

"Let's see it in action then," Urahara nodded.

The former Shinigami used shunpo again, darting across the battlefield. Ghost reacted quickly, shooting electrified bullets at Urahara. Thanks to his speed, Urahara wasn't hit, but the bullets came close and the electricity managed to shock him a few times with just near misses. A direct hit would no doubt be extremely painful.

"Tsk!" Ichigo huffed. Figuring he needed a wider range, he brought the Gan Gun Saber to his Driver.

" **DAIKAIGAN! OMEGA SHOOT!** "

Ghost brought up his weapon, letting his spiritual power in the form of electricity fill his body before being drawn into his weapon. Getting a bead on where he was sure Urahara was going to be instead of where he was, he let out his next shot, a spinning sphere of electric power which burned through the air.

"Yipe!" Urahara gulped, stopping in time to let the shot roar past him, although it did sizzle the edges of his outfit. The shot continued before it struck a boulder, unleashing an explosion which left only a crater and countless pebbles behind. "Whew! That would have been a doozy!"

" **DAIKAIGAN! EDISON! OMEGA DRIVE!** "

Urahara spun around in time to see Ghost taking a flying jump with a large eye-like symbol creating electricity which travelled down the Kamen Rider's leg to cover it in a glowing orange/yellow combination of spiritual energy and electricity. Urahara's eyes widened as he sensed what amounted to one hell of a Getsuga Tensho coming at him in the form of an electrified kick. He rolled to the side, managing to dodge Ghost, although he did nick his shoulder, causing him to be shocked something fierce. Ghost kept going before he hit the ground, causing another explosion as the energy was unleashed in one blast.

"Whew! Ichigo, you trying to kill me?" Urahara laughed, although he was simply hiding the amount of pain he was in.

"Some days I wish I could," Ghost grunted as he appeared from the smoke his attack caused. "Figured since this was all a test, I had to show you what else the suit could do."

"That you did," Urahara nodded, shaking off the worst of the electric shock he took. "Very intriguing stuff. Edison's soul seems to have become elementally aligned with electricity. Possibly something to do with being a legendary soul."

"It works so I don't ask why," Ghost shrugged. "We done?"

"For now," Urahara nodded.

Ghost nodded and removed his Eyecon, allowing his armor to vanish with the cry of 'oyasumi'. Stuffing the Eyecon back into his pocket, he walked back to Urahara as his friends rejoined him, "So what was the point in all that?"

"Oh, just collecting data and such," Urahara answered, retrieving his fan. "This is brand new stuff and I must say it's given me a bit of a rush."

"Look, I can't tell you a whole let. You gotta talk to the Sage or Yurusen," Ichigo shrugged. "They seem to know a lot about this Ganma and Eyecon stuff. Good luck getting it out of them though."

"Well, we can come to that later," Urahara shrugged. "In the meantime, let's get some snacks rolling. We've got much more to talk about!"

"Joy," Ichigo grumbled, but followed as Urahara walked past him back to his friends.

* * *

Night in Karakura was always alive with something happening. More the mundane, that would only apply to the delinquents who liked to stay out late and raise hell as if they were someone tough. For those in the know, it was something else entirely. Spirits and consequently, Hollows tended to be more active at night, depending on the circumstances. The spirits felt they could roam without causing trouble, the ones that weren't anchored to someone or someplace at any rate. This likewise drew in Hollows on the hunt for a meal, seeing more spiritual activity as an easy meal.

Now though, a new breed was entering the game.

*BRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNG*

"Thief! A thief is in the upper offices!"

"Call the police!"

"Where is security?!"

An office building was up in arms as security guards were scrambling to get to the source of the late night disturbance. Inside, an alarm was ringing loudly as it signaled that there was an intruder and something was missing. A short distance away, the culprit was simply walking down the hallways. Quite calm, although they were moving at a bit of a speedy pace. Tucked under his arm was a hand painted portrait, one which was painted by one of the old masters. Worth a fortune in the right hands, the thief carried it with care despite the appearance of manhandling it.

He was dressed in thick clothes, consisting of a black coat with a hood, accented with orange. Underneath was a sweater and jeans, both black save for an eye like symbol across the front. What the hood could not hide was hidden by an orange balaclava with with black sunglasses on the eyes. It was a rather striking resemblance to a certain ghost, but that was the whole point of the outfit.

Coming to another hallway, the thief stopped when a pair of security guards crossed his path, immediately taking in his appearance.

"The ghost thief!"

"Get him!"

The two guards charged for the thief, intent on taking him down and arresting him. The thief didn't seem all that concerned with his predicament. Instead,, he adjusted his grip on the painting before he lifted his free hand and snapped his fingers.

*SNAP!*

Like the sounds of a lock being closed, both guards suddenly stiffened as their limbs became pinned together as if tied up. The odd thing was that they didn't have a single rope or chain on them to explain the sudden seizure of their bodies. They tumbled to the floor and wiggled in attempts to escape whatever trick the thief had pulled on them. One panicked, shouting for help while the other shouted at the thief to release them, but went ignored. The thief just walked past them and kept going.

He continued onward, each security guard that met him just ended up in the same predicament. Somehow, they were bound by some kind of invisible force and left to struggle on the ground as the thief continued on his way. Finally, he reached the bottom floor of the building before escaping through a worker's entrance, dashing off into the alleyways. Moments later the police would arrive to investigate and it wouldn't be until morning that the men who were so inexplicably bound would be able to move again.

The press would have a field day in the coming hours.

* * *

 **Karakura High - 87 Days Remain**

Ichigo entered his classroom with his usual dourness. He half-expected Keigo to come running at him over some rumor he heard, the teen doing it several times whenever he felt he had a lead on a new Eyecon. However, to Ichigo's surprise, it wasn't Keigo who was coming at him, but Orihime instead.

"Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime dashed to Ichigo, fretting. "Did you get a new Eyecon from Picasso-san?"

"Uh, what?" Ichigo blinked. "Inoue, what are you talking about?"

"The painting you found last night," Orihime answered excitedly. "I know it was kind of a bad thing to do, but I guess if it saves your life you can return it later."

"And you lost me," Ichigo frowned. He looked to where Tatsuki was looking at her phone, "Tatsuki, could you explain what's going on?"

The tomboy huffed and got up, approaching Ichigo before pointing her phone in is face, "She means this!"

 **GHOST THIEF STRIKES AGAIN!**

 **In the late hours of the night, the law offices of Wright and Partners was made victim to the now infamous Ghost Thief. After entering the offices via unknown means, he broke into one of the offices of a prominent partner before making off with an original Pablo Picasso painting. Security officers attempted to capture him, but the Ghost Thief employed some unusual ability which paralyzed pursuers, allowing him to escape almost unaccosted. The value of the painting is estimated to be several million yen. Many experts claim this is a crime which resonates both in modern society and in the art world as a whole.**

Ichigo's eyes bulged when he saw a security photo of the thief, dressed in a dark outfit with orange accents and even sporting an orange mask under a hood. It was no Ghost, but the resemblance was enough to fool anyone who hadn't seen Ghost up close before.

"The hell is this?!" Ichigo snapped, furious.

"Someone jacking your image from the looks of it," Tatsuki answered, taking her phone back. "We thought it was you until we saw the picture. Still fooled Orihime."

"Gomen," Orihime mumbled, poking her index fingers together. "It's really convincing…"

' _No it's not,_ ' Ichigo mentally grumbled. Well, he could forgive Orihime since sometimes she wasn't so quick on the uptake for all she was good at her studies. "Dammit. This guy's making me out like some kind of thief!"

"Yeah. Sucks to be you," Tatsuki nodded. "At least you turn into a ghost when you transform so only the spiritually aware can see you."

"Which still counts for a good part of the district," Ichigo retorted.

"Oh, right," Tatsuki nodded. "Anyway, think this guy is hunting stuff for the Ganma to turn into Eyecons? Picasso was a pretty famous guy."

Ichigo huffed, scratching his head, "Maybe. Probably a Ganma is pushing the guy to do this or something. It probably is getting the guy to steal stuff to try and make Eyecons from."

"Oh, maybe we can do a stakeout and find them!" Orihime suggested.

"Nice thought, but we aren't cops or detectives," Ichigo replied. "And we don't even know where this creep will strike next."

"Looks like we're the ones who need a detective this time," Tatsuki shrugged.

* * *

 **Karakura Police Department**

Inside the rather plain-looking offices of the local police precinct in Karakura, a meeting was taking place. Several plain-looking detectives who seemed to be stressed and out of their element were inside a meeting room, looking over paperwork, evidence, and other clues. None of them looked like their usual professional selves, but since they were dealing with a case severely out of their usual beats, it was understandable.

As the men spoke to each other, the door to the meeting room opened, allowing a younger man to walk in. He walked with professionalism and purpose, although he was dressed in jeans with a black shirt and a red leather biking jacket with a dragon emblem on the back. He had vibrant red hair and green eyes, quite different from the status quo. If it weren't for the badge attached to a belt loop, one could have mistaken him as a biker. Instead, all in the men stood up and greeted him. The senior detective in the room approached the man and greeted him.

"Thank you for coming, Detective Tatsuma. Since these mysterious thefts have started, we didn't know who else to turn to."

The younger man, one Ryo Tatsuma, nodded back, "So you decided to call me from the Hinata City Police Department."

"Well, you do have a Special Crimes Division that deals with this sort of thing. We can't make sense of it and the thief seems to have supernatural powers," the senior detective sighed. "This is beyond what we're accustomed in dealing with."

"True. However, what people believe to be supernatural powers can just be smoke and mirrors," Tatsuma answered.

"So you don't believe in the paranormal?"

"I did not say that. I'm just thinking perhaps our culprit had some invisible help," Tatsuma answered. "Now, tell me what has been discovered so far about this Ghost Thief."

"Nothing which can point at a motive," another detective stepped up, holding some of the papers. "Although so far we believe that he is targeting relics of significant historical value. The first was a lightbulb which was made by Thomas Edison and now a painting made by Pablo Picasso."

"And both items would no doubt be worth significant amounts to collectors, either for their rarity or their value," Tatsuma nodded, reading over witness reports. "And so far it is believe he has some kind of invisibility ability?"

"When he was first seen stealing the lightbulb, he vanished," another detective explained. "During this last heist he somehow bound anyone who attempted to stop him. Although we were unable to recover the means he used to do it."

Tatsuma's eyes narrowed on the still images from security photos, "Nothing recovered from the men who were bound at all?"

"Not even a fiber," the detective shook his head. "Do you think it could be one of those Gaia Memory things?"

"Neo-Museum is stingy with their equipment so I doubt it. Karakura does not have the elements that a rising criminal organization is looking for," Tatsuma shook his head. "And I sincerely doubt they're looking for recruits from the local delinquent population. This was done much too professionally for one of them, unusual abilities or not."

"We believe this thief is a professional as well. Likely one who came into his technology recently," the senior detective nodded. "The current relics he is stealing may either be in payment for the technology, or he has grown bolder through using it."

"All good theories, but we will need more information," Tatsuma nodded. "Right now, we need to know if any more relics like these exist in Karakura. The museum is only one location, and one which carries too much risk since he's been there once now. There may be private collectors or businesses in town that may have such things in their possession."

"I'll get some men on it right away!" one detective nodded, leaving the room to get the order send.

"Once the list is compiled, then I want patrols to increase in the areas where these relics are found," Tatsuma continued. "We may not be able to see him or what is helping him, but he is still solid and can trigger traps and alarms."

The other detectives nodded, their morale spiking already as Tatsuma took the lead.

* * *

 **Kurosaki Residence**

Needless to say, Ichigo was a little surly for the day. After all, his image of Ghost was being used by some kind of thief so to prevent the blame from landing on him for his stunts. The police were gunning for Ghost and it would make moving around more difficult. Granted, a good portion of the police wouldn't be able to see him. However, with the amount of people in Karakura who could see spirits, all it would take was one cop being able to see him and it would be a complete manhunt. Also, with the cops being so high strung, if Ichigo or his friends began acting shifty, like if they were hunting fo rmore Eyecons, it could get the cops interested in hauling them in for questioning.

"Just my luck," Ichigo grunted, tapping his pencil on his schoolbook, too aggravated to even study at the moment. "Nothing is ever easy, is it?"

*RING! RING!*

"Huh?" Ichigo blinked, looking over to his cloest where Sage had set up residence. Although Ichigo didn't like the old ghost living in his closet like Rukia did, he couldn't make the man leave either. Not that he didn't give it a hell of a try though. Sage was as resilient as Isshin, much to the teen's annoyance.

Opening the door, Ichigo frowned as he saw that all of the blankets and shelves in his closet had been removed and instead a small single-room apartment was in its place. Casually brushing off the complete disregard to physics, having seen it plenty of times in his life, Ichigo's eyes narrowed on the source of the noise. Sitting on a lap table was what looked like some kind of old antique rotary phone. It was small compared to other phones of its design. Also, the speaker end of the phone seemed to have some kind of buzzard's head.

Grabbing the speaker portion of the phone, Ichigo tapped the bird's head to let the item be used easily, "Hello?"

" _Hello!_ " Sage's cheerful greeting came from the other end. " _Having troubles lately?_ "

"Is there a point to this?" Ichigo growled. He didn't need Sage teasing him about his current situation.

" _Since there is a thief making a name for himself, the spirit of a legendary bandit is on the horizon!_ " Sage continued, undeterred by Ichigo's annoyance. " _A man dressed in green whose arrows pierced against a corrupt regime!_ "

"Green bowman who…" Ichigro frowned, ready to shout something rude when the thought hit him. "Wait, you mean Robin Hood?"

" _Bing-Bong! Correct!_ " Sage cheered from his end...wherever it was. " _I can forsee this thief leading you right to the soul of the legendary bandit! Keep this phone as my gift to help you! It won't steer you wrong!_ "

*CLICK!*

"Well _that's_ a big help," Ichigo scowled as he slammed the phone back into its talon-shaped holder. "Still, it's a lead I suppose. But how a wierd phone is supposed to help me I don't know."

As if in response from his words, the phone gave off what sounded like a predatory bird's shriek before it jumped into the air. The reciever of the phone detatched while the main body flipped over with a pair of orange bird wings folded out from the body. The reciever came back down, attaching at the end to become a necl while the moutpiece became the head of the bird-like machine. It landed on the talons which used to be where the reciever was held.

Ichigo blinked at what he thought was an old phone had become the Condor Denwor Ghost Gadget. It sent another call before flapping its wings and taking flight. It shot past Ichigo and into his room before swooping out the window.

"Dammit!" Ichigo huffed, standing up and racing for the front doo so he could follow the gadget.

* * *

"Oooooh, thank you for coming to protect my dear collection Mr. Detective!"

Tatsuma had found himself at the home of a rather oddball collector who lived in Karakura. The man was a local expert in Egyptology and had quite an extensive collection of artefacts, tomes, and knowledge on the subject. He had written many books on the subject and brought up many unusual theories which made hot debates for scholars. Frankly, while Tatsuma could respect the man's scholastic pursuits and knowledge, he still felt the man was a little bit of a kook.

His name was Horus Suna. A rather ridiculous name, but the man had changed his name to that after he gained fame in his field of study. Apparently it was a nickname which had become more well-known than his birth name so he legally had it changed. He wore a simple suit and tie, but his tie pin was a golden Eye of Ra. His skin was deeply tanned and he seemed to have black lining his eyes, enhancing his already egyptian looks. His straight beard, covering only his chin and styled like the ones pharaohs would use just made him look downright strange.

Tatsuma and the task force he was part of contacted the man since next to the museum, he was one of the people in the district who had a noted collection of historic relics. Feeling he was a very likely target, Tatsuma went to his home to speak with him about considering police protection. Leaving two guards outside, he stepped into what looked more like an Ancient Egyptian temple, complete with heiroglyphs on the walls and torches lighting everything. The only thing that showed it was modern was the materials and modern furniture set down in comfort. Once a maid, tanned and dressed in an ancient egyptian dress alerted him, Suna came to meet them in a flurry of worry.

"It's no difficulty, Suna-san," Tatsuma nodded, in full business mode as he spoke to the fretting scholar. "However, our research did show you had quite a collection of historical relics which this ghost thief seems to have taken a liking to."

"Indeed I dooooo!" Suna nodded rapidly. "Come to my collections room so I can show you!"

Tatsuma looked ot his fellow detective who was partnered with him before they both rolled their eyes. They folled Suna through a hallway and up some stairs before they came to a large pair of double doors inlaid with golden heiroglyphs. Suna fiddled with a key for a moment before the doors were unlocked and opened.

Tatsuma had to blink as inside the room looked more like an ancient tomb's vault with all sorts of relics and artefacts set on display with care and professionalism. It was more professional than any museum that Tatsuma had been to, showing an almost worship of the deities and kings of Ancient Egypt.

"I know just the thing that thief will be after! It's my most famous relic!" Suna declared as he led both detectives to the far end of the room. There, resting on a velvet pillow and protected by a pane of glass was a golden ring with a lapis lazuli scarab resting on top.

"This is the prize the thief would be after?" asked Tatsuma's partner, unconvinced.

"It is my most famous piece!" Suna insisted. "You see, this ring comes right from the treasures which were excavated from King Tutankhamun's tomb! One of the relics which was under the protection of the Curse of the Pharaoh which Sir Carter foolishly unleashed!"

Tatsuma nodded, suddenly seeing the value of the tiny bauble, "Tutankhamun was the greatest historical discovery of his time. It was the discovery of his tomb and the unfortunate events which followed that revived interest in Egypt's ancient culture and allowed historians to continue studying it, discovering as much as we have."

"Exactly!" Suna agreed, although he was fawning over the ring rather than facing the detectives. "It is my most famous piece and I'm sure your ghost thief will come after it!"

"Then we will set up extra protections to keep it safe," Tatsuma nodded. Turning to his partner, he quickly began giving orders, "I want patrols up to three blocks from here. Keep eyes train on the ground, but also have men on the rooftops in case the thief tries to come in from above. Make sure that all of them know that simply because they don't _see_ anything, that there is nothing there."

"I will," the detective nodded, reaching for his phone to give the order.

"KYAAAH!"

The scream from a nearby maid caused both men to turn around, ready to reach for their weapons. The doors to the room suddenly burst open again as a maid ran inside, her eyes wide with fright. Behind her came none other than the ghost thief himself, dressed in his orange and black garb and looking unconcerned with being spotted.

"Freeze!" Tatsuma's partner shouted, drawing his weapon. In response, the thief merely raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

*SNAP!*

The detective suddenly felt his arms pinned as if by some kind of giant clamp. His legs went much the same way before he fell over in a heap.

"Tsk!" Tatsuma moved, reaching into his jacket. This was no ordinary thief and he'd rather use too much than not enough to bring in a perp.

*SNAP!*

Tatsuma let his instincts run as he rolled to the side. Behind him, he heard Suna squeal in fright as he was suddenly bound by something he couldn't see. Rolling to his knees, Tatsuma drew out what looked to be a set of motorcycle handlebars with a speedometer in the middle. He moved to bring it to his waist, but the thief was faster.

*SNAP!*

"GN!" Tatsuma fell back as he felt his body get pinned by something. He struggled, feeling like metal clamps were pinning him down. He glared as the thief calmly walked between the rows of treasures and came up to the ring of Tutankhamun.

"Nooooooo! Please don't take my treasuuuuuure!" Suna wept quite ridiculously as the thief came to the pedestal.

"After what you did? You're lucky this ring is the only thing I take," the ghost thief retorted, calmly removing the glass case. He gently picked up the ring and placed it inside a padded ring box in his jacket. Once it was secured, he looked to Tatsuma, stopping as if he recognized the man.

"Apologies for the rough treatment, detective," he nodded. "But you have your duty and I have mine. I don't mind if you're the cop who eventually busts me though. Maybe if it's you, the truth behind what I do will come out and some last bits of good will be done."

His piece said, the thief began heading out the way he came. Tatsuma grunted and managed to move his dive to his waist where a belt wrapped around his waist, securing it into place. Shuffling a bit, he managed to slip his hand back into his jacket and pulled out a red USB memory drive. Marked on the front was a large A styled like a speedometer and its arm. Moving his finger, he tapped a button on it, activating it.

" **ACCEL!** "

"Hen-Shin!" Tatsuma announced, flipping the memory around before plugging it into the top of his AccelDriver. Grabbing the clutch on the Driver, he began revving it, causing engine noises to follow.

In a flash, several red pistons surrounded Tatsuma before enveloping him in red energy. The energy solidified into a suit of armor. He was all red, from head to toe. The torso armor sported a grill on the bottom like a cars and sported sharp, blocky shoulders with a wheel and part fo a chasis on the back. His boots also sported one half of a wheel behind each calf and his helmet, styled like a racecar driver's, had a blue visor with an 'A' in the centre. The top of the 'A' went up past his helmet to form a horn.

This was Kamen Rider Accel, a hero out from Hinata Hot Springs during the secret battles with the Museum criminal family.

Accel grunted, looking down at himself. He was surprised to see that he could see what was pinning him down in his suit. From his view, it looked like a set of giant handcuffs were pinning his arms and legs. Looking to his partner and Suna, he saw they were bound in the same things. He cast the thought aside before he grunted and flexed his arms and legs, causing the cuffs binding him to groan before a metallic shriek broke the cuffs off, freeing him.

Accel quickly got up and looked to the others in the room, but the detective waved him off, "Go! Just catch him! We'll be okay!"

"Right!" Accel nodded before he took off in chase of the ghost thief. He took to the hallways and came out into the main hall of the professor's residence, seeing the ghost thief reaching for the doors as a maid cowered nearby. What caught Accel's attention was that the thief wasn't alone. anymore.

Following the thief's trail was a humanoid of some sort, but one whose body was entirely black with a rib cage design on its front while it wore a buckle shaped like an eye. It's face was blank save for two blue eyes while its hands and feet were adorned in silver boots and gloves. It was also wearing what looked like a prison stripe jacket, complete with the cyclindrical cap on tis head. Wrapped around its arms were numerous chains ending in large handcuffs it wore like gauntlets. This black chains hung from its shoulders, ending in iron balls that hung on its back, not weighing it down in the least.

"Freeze! Both of you!" Accel shouted, stopping the thief and its inhuman companion.

"Eh? Aww, what now?" the creature whined, sounding like it had a New Jersey accent. "Another poser in a suit or what?"

"Kamen Rider…" the ghost thief gasped as if he hadn't heard the creature.

"Kamen Rider Accel," the red Rider nodded. "Now perhaps you can explain what that creature is next to you? Obviously it's helping you out in your little crime spree."

"What?" the ghost thief tilted his head.

The Cuffs Ganma had a different reaction as it sputtered in surprise, "Wait, you can see me?! Ah no! Not another Ganma Hunter!"

"Ganma?" Accel tilted his head. "Well, I have a name to go on now."

The Cuffs Ganma realized what it had done and choked, "Crap!" Grunting, it huffed, "Oh fine! I'll just take you down too before I go!" The Ganma leaned to the ghost thief and spoke almost in a whisper, " _Keep running! You can escape!_ "

The ghost thief seemed to shudder before he took off for the doors. Accel didn't wait for the man to escape and ran for the two. The Cuffs Ganma was quick to intervene, opening the cuffs on his arms before swinging its arms as it got in close to him. Accel dipped, punching at the new kaijin, striking it in the torso before a kick knocked it back.

The Cuffs Ganma grunted before it thrust its hands out, throwing enlarged handcuffs at the Kamen Rider. Knowing what they could do, Accel rolled to the side to get out of the way, letting the cuffs wrap around items of furniture instead. It did give more breathing space between Accel and the Ganma which the kaijin took advantage off by making a break for the door.

"Dammit!" Accel huffed, getting off to chase after the monster.

* * *

It took Ichigo a while and a good bit of stamina just to keep up with the telephone turned condor. Fortunately, he did have the option of turning into his ghostly form so he wouldn't have to do dodging other people or objects. Passing into another part of the district, Ichigo turned solid as he kept his eyes on the Condor Denwor.

"Come on, come on, where are we going?' Ichigo scowled as he followed the machine around the corner. He barely turned to see where he was going when… "OOF!"

Ichigo fell onto his back as he ran into something. Heaving a breath, he sat up and rubbed his face, "Sorry about that bu-!"

Ichigo's apology was stopped when he looked at the person he had run into. The man he had run into and was on the ground in front of him was dressed up like a bad imitation of Ghost. Ichigo's eyes widened when it hit him, "Hey, you're that ghost thief!"

"Crap!" the man hissed, struggling to his feet. He immediately took off running, ducking down a side street as he made a break for freedom.

"Oi! Get back here!" Ichigo shouted, hopping to his feet. He would have likewise gone after the thief, but his instincts told him to _move_. Not one to ignore such a thing, Ichigo rolled to the side as something crashed to the ground where he stood a moment ago.

"Oh? You dodged me. Does that mean you can see us too?"

Ichigo frowned as he saw another Ganma standing up from where it had impacted. It wore the jacket of a decorated police officer with bulky shoulders. It even had the decorated hat of a police officer. His chest was covered which looked like a kevlar protective vest, but styled to look like muscles. Gripped in its hands were a pair of stun batons which looked polished, but deadly.

"So you guys are behind that guy," Ichigo scowled, standing up. "That's fine with me. I can take you down and end these stupid stunts!" Ichigo quickly summoned his GhostDriver and drew his Ore Eyecon.

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

"Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

Ghost adorned his armor in a flash and he called out the Gan Gun Saber for weaponry. He didn't hesitate or make some kind of remark, but instead just charged for the Badge Ganma. The Ganma raised his batons and the weapons collided with each other in a blast of sparks. Pushing the sword aside, the Badge Ganma smashed one baton against Ghost's temple, disorienting him.

"Count one, assaulting an officer of the law!" the Ganma laughed, lunging at Ghost, swinging with its batons. Ghost grunted and parried the blows before lunged for a shoulder check, impacting against the Ganma and knocking it back. It took the blow and swung back, colliding with Ghost again, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Count two, wielding a deadly weapon in public!" the Badge Ganma continued, swinging for another blow to the head.

"Hah!" Ghost blocked the strike before using a single hand to swat it away, leaving the Ganma open to a punch to the face courtesy of Ghost's free hand. "Here's your first count: first degree asshole-ism!"

Knowing he was going to need something better than an oversized sword against a dual wielder, Ghost quickly drew his Musashi Eyecon. A pressing of a switch got the item to activate, rousing Musashi's soul.

" **EYE! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA! BATCHIRIMINNA!** "

" **KAIGAN! MUSASHI! KETTO! ZUBATTO! CHOKENGO!** "

Adorned in Musashi Damashii, Ghost split his sword in two before he went right back at the Badge Ganma, meeting swipe for swipe as their weapons clashed against one another.

* * *

"Hey, mind your own beeswax pal!" the Cuffs Ganma grunted, swiping at Accel in an attempt to stop his pursuit.

Accel blocked the blow, having recovered his weapon from his partner's car. It was called the Engine Blade, a sword with a straight blade mounted on a hilt which looked like it had been constructed from a high performance engine. Despite its lightweight appearance, the blade was in fact quite heavy, allowing for Accel to bash the Ganma's weapons aside and leave it open for another attack. Accel didn't disappoint as he struck with a kick to the Ganma's side, knocking it back.

"Gah!" the Ganma groaned as it rolled to a stop. Groaning, it forced itself up to its feet, "Man, the boss is going to be cheesed if he finds out the pigs are onto us!"

"Boss?" Accel frowned. "Oh, so you're just a small fry in your kind. You have a commander who teamed you up with the ghost thief. What do they want historic relics for?"

The Cuffs Ganma winced and prepared for another brawl, "NNNNNN! None of your business pig!"

"I see," Accel nodded. "Then it's time to cut off the ghost thief's little trick." He grabbed the clutch on his Driver, giving it a squeeze.

" **ACCEL: MAXIMUM DRIVE!** "

Accel's armor began giving off waves of heat as the energy from his Gaia Memory began flooding through him. Tossing his sword aside, he dashed at the Cuffs Ganma in a blur of red. The ghostly kaijin yelped and launched more giant handcuffs at the red Rider, but Accel's speed allowed him to dodge. Coming up to the Ganma, he leaped for a flying roundhouse kick which had a red trail following it with the cry off..

"Accel Grand Prix!"

The kick struck in a blast of heat and fire which sent the Cuffs Ganma flying with a cry of pain. Landing, Accel watched the Ganma crackled with energy while it screamed out. While it rolled away, it's coat lifted off and floated away before both exploded in a haze of heat and fire.

Accel let the flames die out before he approached the explosion site, looking for a clue. In the cloud of smoke, he looked to see a pair of handcuffs and what looked like some kind of bauble shaped like an eyeball held in a clawed grip. He didn't get much time to see the item before it popped like a firecracker, dropping shards in all directions.

Removing his Accel Memory, the Kamen Rider returned to normal detective persona. Kneeling down, he retrieved a handkerchief before using it to pick up pieces of the eye-like bauble. It made him wonder if the device was something akin to a Gaia Memory, or something else altogether.

"I'll need Phillip and Su to take a look at this," Tatsuma frowned, standing up.

* * *

The explosion cut through the air, stopping the fight between Ghost and the Badge Ganma. The Ganma didn't seem as concerned about what may have happened, but what the explosion may have meant for it.

"Fool couldn't hack it," the Ganma grunted before looking at Ghost. "Another time, Boy." Backing away, the Ganma dashed for a building before phasing through the wall.

Ghost scowled and moved to follow, but stopped when he thought of the explosion. Looking between where the Ganma went and the explosion, Ghost silently cursed before running in the direction of the explosion, fearing that people had been hurt.

The area of the short brawl was quiet save for the beginnings of sirens filling the air. Unbeknownst to him or the Ganma, something had been left behind in the wake of Ichigo meeting the ghost thief. A small innocent-looking ring box was laying on the sidewalk. It seemed completely innocent unless one would open it and see what was inside.

A pair of black shoes stopped in front of the box before it was lifted up by a pair of hands. The box was opened to reveal the ring of Tutankhamun inside. Whoever was holding it didn't seem to be shocked at the sight of a moment, the ring began to glow a vibrant turquoise color as off in the distance, a high pitched wail of ' _my treassssuuuuuuurrrre_ ' hit the air, louder than even the sirens.

The one holding the ring lifted his free hand, letting his fingertips glow a spectral blue before he drew an eye symbol over the ring. An eye symbol flashed before the ring vanished in a haze of turquoise smoke that launched into the air. Emerging from the smoke came a sleeveless turquoise Parka Ghost with golden shoulders, gold and turquoise lapels with a hood styled after a pharaoh's headdress. From the darkness under the hood, two turquoise eyes glowed brightly.

" _Who dares risk the wrath of the Pharaoh?_ " the Parka Ghost Tutankhamun spoke forebodingly.

The one who summoned the spirit grinned.

* * *

 **Karakura High - 86 Days Remain**

"So the ghost thief strikes again," Uryu commented as the circle of friends sat down on the rooftop for lunch. "Now the police are going to redouble their efforts to bring him in and if they see you they'll be gunning for you."

"No duh," Ichigo scowled, munching on the lunch Yuzu had made. "Still, I think there's more than one Ganma involved with this one."

"What makes you say that?" asked Tatsuki.

"I checked where that explosion had come from and I stuck close to where the cops were rolling in. Being a ghost kind of helped with that," Ichigo explained. "But from what I saw, I think someone took down the Ganma that was helping this guy. I saw cops picking up a pair of handcuffs and scooping of bits of what I _think_ was a Ganma Eyecon."

"Think the police took it down?" asked Chad. "You hear about monsters in other districts so maybe they brought in an expert?"

Ichigo frowned in thought, "...at first I want to say no but...there was a guy there…"

"A guy?" asked Orihime.

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded. "Dressed in red like some kind of biker but he was definitely a cop. He kept looking my way. He couldn't see me, I'm sure of that, but at the same time I think he could tell I was there just the same."

"Hm," Uryu pondered. Reaching into his pack, he produced his laptop, "Did you manage to hear his name? He sounds like he'd stand out."

Ichigo nodded again, "Yeah, they called him Detective Tatsuma if that helps."

"It does," Uryu nodded, typing in the name. After a moment, his brow furrowed. Spinning the laptop around, "Did he look like this?"

Ichigo eyed the face of the man on the screen and confirmed it, "Yeah, that's him."

"Then this is going to be difficult," Uryu took his computer back. "His name is Ryo Tatsuma, a decorated detective from Hinata Hot Springs."

"The hot springs resort area?" asked Mizuiro. "I had a few dates out there. It's really nice."

"The same," Uryu nodded. "He is part of a Special Crimes unit which specifically deals with unusual crimes that involve monsters or supernatural. He was instrumental in taking on and then taking down the Museum Crime Family lead by the Sonozaki Family."

"Wait, the ones who sold those things that could turn people into Dopers?" asked Keigo.

"Dopants," Uryu corrected. "Tatsuma has access to specialty anti-Dopant technology which may be just as effective on Ganma. I'd say it was likely that he took down the Ganma which was part of the robbery last night."

"Which means he probably did see me," Ichigo winced. "Dammit…"

"Damn, sounds like this guy may know what he's doing," Tatsuki winced. "But if he gets wise to the Ganma, then maybe it can help us. I mean, it does seem like the Ganma have more plans than just to steal Eyecons."

"Optimistically, I'd say yes, but unless they see it who would believe spiritual entities from another realm are trying to infiltrate and/or invade ours?" asked Uryu.

"So he may just think that it's like those Gaia Memory things, just different," Ichigo realized. "Eyecons look perfectly innocent, like eyeball trinkets or something."

"So what's the plan then," asked Chad.

Ichigo turned it over in his head, "Well, we know some Ganma are helping this ghost thief out. So we have to try and track him down before he nabs more stuff they can try to make Eyecons from."

"Will that Condor device be able to do it again?" asked Uryu.

"Well, if the guy starts moving again, probably," Ichigo shrugged. "Damn thing shut down after I left the cops behind and wouldn't transform again. I guess he was hidden or he didn't have a Ganma following him to track anymore."

"At least we can do that!" Orihime offered brightly. "It'll be like a stakeout! Like from those cop shows!"

"Then we have to sit around and wait," Ichigo huffed. "I hate that."

* * *

 **?**

"Sorry. I lost the ring. I must have dropped it when I was running from that armored guy."

Inside a dimly lit apartment, two men were in a meeting. One was the increasingly infamous ghost thief. The other was the mysterious man who would be seen working with the Ganma. It was obviously bad news, but the strange man didn't seem to be all that concerned about the loss of the relic he had, from appearances, requested the ghost thief to steal.

"Quite all right. These things happen," the man nodded, calmly seated in a chair with his briefcase next to him. "I will simply reserve payment until you bring me the next relic on the list."

The ghost thief sighed, "Right. Okay. So what is it and why should I risk my neck for it?"

The man flashed his crooked smile, "The relic is an old six-shot revolver which once belonged to Billy the Kid. It can be found in the home of Commissioner Tarakudo. I do not have to explain why you should feel no guilt over stealing from him."

The ghost thief made an audible growl as he reached to his neck, removing a pendant shaped like a middle ages arrowhead from inside of his shirt. He gripped it tightly, a habit from how he barely seemed to notice himself doing it, "No."

"Then I do not foresee a problem," the mysterious man nodded before he glanced to another side of the apartment. There, the Badge Ganma and two more Cuffs Ganma nodded back, understanding the silent order.

* * *

 **Karakura Police Station**

"I will not allow this damn costumed weirdo to continue to make a fool of my precinct! We had him right in our sights and he still got away thinks to some 'invisible creature'? Preposterous!"

Tatsuma stood in front of a rather portly man dressed in a particularly fine suit as he paced behind his desk. His name was Commissioner Kota Tarakudo. He looked the typical part of the overpaid executive. Greasy slicked hair, pudgy, almost piggish features, and had the airs of someone who thought highly of himself from all the decoration in his office. Most of it was pictures of the man shaking hands with various powerful figures.

"Sir," Tatsuma reported diplomatically. "As strange as it sounds, you _know_ that such things are possible. The Gaia Memories in Hinata and Futo should be proof in and of themselves. I believe this ghost thief may be employing similar technology, but creates these Ganma from combining objects and these eye-like devices."

"Yes, yes, I read the report," Tarakudo huffed. He picked up a piece of paper, Tatsuma' report. "You believe that the eyeball-like device which shattered upon defeat of the creature, acts like a Gaia Memory, but combines with objects and is governed by an AI inside of it. Normally I'd just call it hogwash, but your expertise in Gaia Memoris keeps me from saying that."

Tarakudo threw the report down and stepped in front of Tatsuma and stared him down, even if Tatsuma was two heads taller than him, "I allowed my men to call you in since you seemed to know what you are doing. Now so far all you did was fight some kind of invisible bogeyman and let that freak escape with the prized possession of a prominent friend of mine! I will not let this happen again, do you understand me?"

"Yes sir," Tatsuma accepted.

"Good. I don't want to be embarrassed like this again," Tarakudo nodded. "Dismissed."

Tatsuma nodded and turned to leave the office. As he reached the door, he stopped for a moment, "Sir, just to be courteous. You are on the list of potential targets too."

Tarakudo stopped, sweat beading on his brow, "What?"

"Rumour in the office says you love to show off the revolver you bought that supposedly belongs to the American outlaw Billy the Kid," Tatsuma explained. "If it's true, then the ghost thief may very well come after you. Being rich or connected seems to make you a more likely target than places like a museum." Tatsuma grinned slightly when he saw Tarakudo pale, "Just a friendly warning."

Tatsuma left, leaving Tarakudo to sweat. The man promptly dashed to one of his many portraits and removed it, revealing a safe behind it. Dialling in the combination, he opened it to examine the contents. Inside were numerous documents and files, likely sensitive ones. At the side of the safe's insides, there was a clear plastic case with an antique revolver, expertly restored but still visibly old, done in the style of the old west.

"Oh that freak will be in for hell of a surprise when he tries to steal this from me," Tarakudo grinned.

Feeling a little better about giving the piggish man something to panic over, Tatsuma walked through the office. Reaching into his pocket, he produced his phone before dialing up a familiar numbers. Once he was in a semi-quiet place, he reached the other side.

" _Hello, Hinata-Sou._ '

" Phillip, it's me," Tatsuma spoke into his phone, "Any results yet?"

" _The sample you sent over to us is intriguing. We have yet to uncover what it's made of. We've already put it through a battery of tests,_ " Phillip said from the other end.

"What kind of tests?" Tatsuma asked curiously.

" _The usual tests we scientists perform when encountering a strange new material. Su's gone nuts trying to figure it out._ "

"Nuts in a good way, bad way, or the Su way?" Tatsuma asked, concerned.

" _The Su way. What other way is there?_ "

"Good point. Anyway, I'm suspecting something supernatural..." Tatsuma was interrupted by a scoff. "Seriously, you're still a skeptic after all this time?"

" _I simply think that all paranormal and supernatural phenomena can be explained through science. And don't bring up my resurrection. That was scientifically explained._ "

"The Spirit of the Earth brought you back to life. It was like you were resurrected by a goddess."

" _I'll give you that._ "

"When you manage to figure out what it's made of, let me know. Later." Tatsuma took the phone off his ear and checked the screen to see he had gotten a new text message. He opened it and saw a picture of Mutsumi with a caption saying, ' _Miss you, Ryo-kun'_. She was blowing him a kiss on the picture. Tatsuma smiled. On cases such as the ghost thief, seeing Mutsumi alone made it all worth it.

Tatsuma turned a corner and almost bumped into a uniformed officer. The man looked as professional and polished as any officer in Japan's police force was expected to be. Always one to respect a uniform unless otherwise, Tatsuma nodded and apologized to the man, "Sorry about that officer."

"Quite all right sir," the man nodded back. "I should have been paying closer attention too. With the cases going on, my mind isn't where it used to be."

"The ghost thief?" asked Tatsuma.

"Among other cases," the officer nodded. "I'm not a detective so technically I shouldn't be sticking my nose in, but the ghost thief cases are bringing back old memories of previous cases."

Tatsuma immediately perked up, "Previous cases?"

* * *

 **Karakura High**

"Say, do you think that this thief targeted these people for a reason?" asked Chad. "Even if it is just to steal things to summon a Legendary Soul, the Ganma wouldn't need a human to do that."

Ichigo blinked and frowned in thought, "Well, come to think of it. A Ganma wouldn't need to hire someone to steal something."

"So you're thinking the thief might be someone they targeted whose got a grudge against the people he steals from?" asked Keigo. "Sounds like something out of a cop drama."

"But worth looking into if we want to find this person," Uryu spoke up, already typing on his laptop again. "The papers this morning said that last night's victim was a man named Horus Suna."

"Seriously?" Ichigo deadpanned. What a stupid name.

"Apparently he loves Ancient Egypt so much he changed his name," Uryu shrugged, although he thought such a name sounded quite dumb as well. After a moment, his eyes landed on something, "Here's something interesting. It seems that Prof. Suna was caught up in a big scandal a year ago."

"What kind?" asked Tatsuki, curious.

"Apparently he was caught dealing in pilfered Egyptian artefacts," Uryu answered, reading the article. "Supposedly, he was caught buying stolen artefacts, ones which were pilfered from museums and even dig sites."

"So, how come he's not in jail then?" asked Mizuiro.

"Maybe an Egyptian god of evil saved him so they could enact a ritual to bring back an evil Pharaoh!" Orihime gasped.

"...not quite so fantastic," Uryu deadpanned, used to Orihime's imaginative outbursts. "He claimed that he was duped, that he thought he was dealing with a reputable dealer. Quite frankly no one believed him since the dealer they caught was so shady you could supposedly tell he was a crook from a mile away. Everyone was sure that he would be arrested for dealing with stolen goods."

"So what happened?" asked Ichigo. "The guy's not in jail is he?"

"No, and it's a funny thing," Uryu frowned, looking over the article. "The dealer was charged, tried, and jailed easily enough. When it came to Suna though, it was like no evidence they found was enough to bring him to trial even though the same evidence was able to convict his dealer."

"What?" Ichigo frowned.

"Apparently is was considered inadmissible in Suna's case or some kind of roadblocks kept coming up to prevent police and the prosecution from using or collecting more evidence," Uryu answered, his eyes narrowing.

"That's bullcrap!" Tatsuki growled. "Just because the guy's a professor or something he gets special treatment?!"

"I don't think he got special treatment," Ichigo frowned, now sitting straight. "I think he had inside help," he recalled Sage's hint over the phone before looking to Uryu. "What about the other place that got hit?"

* * *

 **Karakura Police Station**

"And then hearing that painting got stolen from the Damasu Mortgage Brokers reminded me of the case we had against them a while back," the officer continued.

"And what case would that be?" asked Tatsuma, starting to ge a gnawing feeling in his gut that the ghost thief was in this for more than just money or pride.

"Well, our blue collar crime division were sent in because it seemed like the man in charge there, Retsu Damasu, was brokering mutiple mortgages for the same property to multiple banks and pocketing the fees he normally charged after getting the first one for his clients but sticking them with the bill for all of them."

"Hm," Tatsuma rubbed his chin. "And how did that investigation turn out?"

"From what I know, the paper trail was pretty tricky and hard to follow," the officer shrugged. "Then all of a sudden, Damasu says they found the problem. Apparently it was some kind of human error or something. They fired a few people paid back the banks for the mortgages. The division wanted to double check just to be sure, but the comissioner cut them off and said the case was closed. Funnily though, the company didnt' seem to suffer any cutbacks even after all the money it had to pay back."

"I see," Tatsuma nodded. Now that explained what the ghost thief said back at Suna's collection room. "Is this information well-known?"

"Well, the police know the gritty details, but the public only knows the bare bones for the most part," the officer shrugged.

"Right," Tatsuma pondered. "Say, I didn't catch your name."

"Oh, Ryujin Shinjitsu, sir," the officer saluted.

* * *

 **Karakura High School**

"So wait, both these places got investigated for crimes but then all of a sudden the case is closed even though it was obvious they were breaking the law?" Ichigo asked incrediously. "Are you kidding me?"

"The newspapers don't go into a lot of detail, but if you know how to properly research you can tell that things are not as nearly cut and dry as they appeared to be," Uryu tilted his glasses. "Perhaps this ghost thief is extorting retribution from these individuals for their crimes and the Ganma are merely taking advantage of it."

"Just like Robin Hood!" Orihime smiled brighty.

"Yeah, Robin Hood…" Ichigo pondered. "Uryu, is there anything else that's recent like this?"

"If my research is correct, there is one more person who is likely a target," Uryu answered.

* * *

 **Karakura Police Station**

Tatsuma stood in the old case files, looking over the paperwork, clues, and other things connected to the cases that Shinjitsu spoke to him about. Both of them seemed to close way too quickly to his detective instincts and it gave him a bad feeling. Looking through both case files, he was starting to see a pattern. Many leads were drummed up and lots of evidence was found, but before it could go anywhere the investigators were kept from finding anything and evidence was dismissed before it could be properly files. Only the lead investigator's notes in each file brought attention to those untouched clues in the first place.

It stank of something worse than incompetence, but outright corruption.

Taking out his phone, Tatsuma dialled up a familiar number, "Phillip? It's Tatsuma. I need you to go into the Gaia Library for me. First keyword…"

* * *

"Kota Tarakudo"

* * *

 **Karakura Police Station**

Inside Tarakudo's office, a man dressed as a police officer with the brim of his hat tilted down to partially disguise his face from any cameras, stood in front of Tarakudo's safe. Looking at it, he scowled slightly before he snapped his fingers.

*SNAP*

Suddenly, as if something clamped down on the door, the door of the safe was crunched and torn open, letting senstivie papers fly out. Stepping through the mess, the man grabbed the case containing Billy the Kid's pistol before turning to leave the room.

"Freeze!"

The man stopped outside of Tarakudo's office, his head ducked down, but he could still tell that several armed officers were standing in front of him with pistols raised. In front of them all was Tarakudo, smiling arrogantly.

"Thought you could make off with my precious prize eh?" he snorted. "Well I was onto you from the start! Well now you're under arrest and I'll tell you now, I can get _very_ creative when it comes to pressing charges!"

"Oh, I know. You're an expert at making things up," the ghost thief disguised as a cop nodded. "So I got creative too."

*SNAP!*

Quite suddenly, all of the armed officers siezed up as if detained by something before they all fell over in heaps. Fortunately, none of the guns went off so no one was the worse for wear. Tarakudo was the only one left standing and he broke out in a cold sweat when he realized that he was not in the advantageous position that he thought he was.

Stew in your own corruption," the ghost thief snapped. "And watch it all burn down around you," with that vague threat, he left. Not one officer could stop him since anyone who tried found themselves bound by an invisible force.

Tatsuma dashed back up from the archives a heartbeat later, his eyes narrowed as he gave pursuit.

* * *

 **Karakura High School**

*TWEE! TWEE!*

"GMPH!" Ichigo choked as something let out a shriek behind him. Turning, he saw the Condor Denwor flapping on the other side of the fence which surrounded the rooftop. "Oh damn."

"Seems that Ganma is back at work," Uryu stood up. "We'll cover for you Kurosaki."

"Right," Ichigo got up. He summoned his GhostDriver and retrieved his Ore Eyecon. "Thanks guys."

" **EYE! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHRIMINNA!** "

"Henshin!"

" **KAIGAN! ORE! LET'S GO! KAKUGO! GHO-GHO-GHO-GHOST! GO! GO! GO! GO!** "

Transformed into Ghost once again, the spectral Kamen Rider leaped from the rooftop, phasing through the fence before hovering down to the ground. Above him, the Ghost Gadget let off another shriek before taking off in a random direction.

A neigh and engine roar followed as the Machine Ghostriker appeared, prompting Ghost to hop on, "Thanks!"

Another roar of an engine and Ghost was off, following the small machine down the streets. Again, his ability to phase through objects cut down on travel time as the Condor Denwor made several sharp turns, forcing Ghost to phase through different cars and even a bus stop or two. Still, he kept up until he turned to a main road and saw what looked like a police officer driving a street bike.

"What?" Ghost blinked.

*VROOM!*

He didn't get to think much before a red street bike with a familiar red-clad detective on it veered onto the same road.

"Oh damn," Ghost groaned.

 **(Oo\0/Oo)**

Tatsuma wasn't sure what to think of the small machine flying through the air, but he dismissed ti as a new Memory Gadget or perhaps something Su whipped up so she could spy on his progress. Although, her machines usually had a turtle theme to them. Still, it did change the sensation that there was some kind of presence next to him as he turned onto the street.

Ignoring it, he chased after the disguised ghost thief, dipping around cars and turning sharp corners. He made sure to stay far enough back so that the man didn't notice him. Fortunately, it worked as they pulled up to a building which was under construction. The ghost thief quickly dismounted and ran inside. Tatsuma only waited for a few moments before he pulled up next to the green motorcycle and came to a stop. Removing his helmet, he dismounted before drawing his Engine Blade from his bike and slowly followed.

 **(Oo\0/oO)**

Ghost walked alongside the red-clad detective, silently approving of the man's dedication and courage with how far he was willing to go to chase a perp. Still, Ghost silently felt the man was in over his head if the sword he was holding was the only thing he had to fight against Ganma with.

"You're good Detective Tatsuma. Everything they say you are," the ghost thief's voice rang out from around.

"I'm almost flattered by that...Officer Ryujin Shinjitsu," Tatsuma retorted.

"Huh?" Ghost blinked. The thief was a cop?!

From behind a concrete pillar walked out the ghost thief, still in his police uniform and his face bared for all to see. Tatsuma tensed at the sight of the man who no longer held the gun he stole, but a leather briefcase instead. Ghost tensed due to the fact that the man had three Ganma behind him, the Badge Ganma he fought the previous night and two Cuffs Ganma who followed it like common goons.

"Oh look, it's the delinquent again," the Badge Ganma huffed, tapping one of his batons into the palm of his hand.

"Heh heh heh heh heh," the two Cuffs Ganma sniggered behind their boss.

The kaijin went unheard as Shinjitsu looked to Tatsuma, "So you managed to figure it out then?"

"Yes," Tatsuma nodded, "You were the lead investigator into the mortgage fraud case. After Tarakudo forcibly closed the case, you got transferred to another division where you ended up busting Suna for his black market dealing. Tarakudo played smokescreen and got the case closed before he demoted you to the regular beat, likely to keep you from sniffing around his influential friends."

Shinjitsu nodded, "I knew you'd figure it out. If there was any cop in the world I'd let take me down, it was you. You'd listen to me and bring down Tarakudo and all the damn corruption he brought. All he cares about is his high placed connections and barely helps with the other divisions. Why do you think so many delinquent gangs hang around Karakura? He's busy using their budgets to schmooze with the high rollers so he can earn favors for his career!"

"Yes, but there is a right way and a wrong way to deal with it!" Tatsuma insisted. "Robbing his rich patrons isn't going to help anything!"

"It got you here, didn't it?" asked Shinjitsu. Around him, a purple aura began to flare, concentrated on something at his neck. Tatsuma's eyes began to widen at the sight. "There's no other way to fight scum like Tarakudo! You have to fight scum like him at their own level! If it means ending their corruption, then dammit like Robin Hood of old I'll be an outlaw to the end!"

"What on…?" Tatsuma gasped.

"Get ready," the Badge Ganma grinned, lifting his baton.

"Oh no you don't!" Ghost yelled, preparing to charge at the man.

Both Cuffs Ganma stepped in front of their leader and fired off their enlarged handcufss, aimed at both Tatsuma and Ghost. The Kamen Rider quickly summoned his Gan Gun Saber and swung wide, destroying the cuffs which were aimed at him.

" **ENGINE!** "

Tatsuma, listening to his instincts as a swordsman, swiftly loaded his Engine Memory into his sword and likewise swung, destroying the (to him) invisible implements which had been shot at him. Acting further, he hit a switch on his weapon, activating one of the functions.

" **STEAM!** "

The Engine Blade hissed and let out a blast of steam which began covering everything. The three Ganma began to cough and yell as the hot air took them by surprise. Ghost quickly saw his chance and ran through it, although Tatsuma was sure for a split second he saw a human figure running through the steam. Ghost concentrated his reiatsu, pooling together the positive energy before he came up to Shinjitsu and wrapped his arms around the man, creating a flash of white.

* * *

 **Mindscape**

Ichigo blinked, finding himself in what looked like a treehouse of some sort. The kind that kids would have epic wars with, pretending to be heroes out in the wild. Lots of it was engulfed in purple fire, showing the Ganma's corruption trying to destroy it and make the man a proper sacrifice for the Ganma's summoning ritual.

Walking through the treehouse, Ichigo stopped when he saw the man in clothes more fitting from the middile ages with a discarded police uniform nearby. In his hand was a book which had the name Robin Hood across the cover.

"Officer Ryujin Shinjitsu?" Ichigo asked.

"Not much of an officer now. Not after the stuff I did," Shinjitsu sighed, looking at his book. "All I wanted to do was stop the corruption. The commissioner was stopping cases, hiding evidence, and all but bribing some of us just to keep his influential friends from getting charged."

"So you decided to rob the guys who he covered for?" asked Ichigo.

"Yeah. I figured by selling the things, I could use it to fund programs which would keep things like it from happening again," Shinjitsu shrugged. "I sold the painting to pay back the people that mortgage case cheated. I would have sold that ring to help fund antiquity protection groups like I'm selling that gun to do. Still, it's not stopping Tarakudo or his rich friends thinking they're above the law." he sighed, "Some Robin Hood I turned out to be."

Ichigo scowled, but knowing the man's life was at stake, pressed on, "Robin Hood didn't win in a day you know."

"What?" Shinjitsu looked up.

"Well, his king was fighting the Crusades, right? That left his brother Prince John in charge," Ichigo reasoned. "Robin Hood didn't have it easy, even if he made it work. It wasn't about beating Prince John and that Sherrif of Nottingham. It was about making sure the people didn't suffer for their greed. Robin Hood knew it was only a matter of time before Richard came back and dealt with John. So he kept at it, worked hard to help, persevered, created a following who could help more and more people, and eventually they won out when Richard returned."

"Perseverance," Shinjitsu blinked. "But...Tarakudo has so much influence."

"Maybe, but can you say he was really subtle about it?" asked Ichigo. "Because from where I stand, it's getting obvious he was doing something to mess with the cases. So long as good cops still exist, he'll eventually burn himself trying to meddle with their cases. You can't be the only cop who won't stand for it, right?"

Shinjitsu was silent, looking at his book and then to the discarded uniform, "...you're right. I'm not the only cop who feels that way. Tatsuma's another. If enough of us work together, we can prove Tarakudo meddled with the cases for his own personal gain. We can bring him down!"

Shinjitsu's conviction came as a blast of light which snuffed out all of the purple flames, leaving the treehouse as pristine as it once was.

"Good luck out there," Ichigo grinned as everything went white.

* * *

Tatsuma turned to where Shinjitsu was, watching him fall to his knees as the cloud of steam fell. The man wasn't glowing purple anymore. The detective was at his side in an instant, looking him over for injury, "Shinjitsu! Shinjitsu, speak to me!"

"I'm...I'm okay," Shinjitsu huffed, a little short on breath. "I think...I think I just realized how much on the wrong track I was."

"You were, but I'm glad you realized it," Tatsuma nodded. "I still have to arrest you, but I won't let the corruption allegations go either."

"I wouldn't expect you to, Detective," Shinjitsu smiled. "I may have tried to pull a Robin Hood, but I guess I had just forgotten than the Merry Men were just as important."

 **(Oo\0/oO)**

Ghost remerged from Shinjitsu, relieved to see the man wasn't in danger of being a Ganma sacrifice anymore. With that settled, he turned to where the last of the steam cloud was gone, revealing the Badge Ganma and his two cronies coming out of it.

"Boss! The sacrifice is ruined!" one of the Cuffs Ganma cried, pointing at Shinjitsu

"What?! No!" the Badge ganma cried, seeing his minion was right. He snarled at Ghost, "You brat! Do you know how long it took to get that guy to that level?!"

"Don't know, don't care," Ghost huffed, lifting the gan Gun Saber "Let's go!"

Ghost dashed at the Badge Ganma who sent his two minions at the Kamen Rider. The first swung at him which he blocked before parrying the blow and slashing the Ganma down the middle. As it stumbled back in a cry of pain, the second Cuffs Ganma shot a handcuff at him. Ghost ducked to the side, letting the cuff smash through an unfinished pillar. He then ran along the extended chain and slashed the Ganma twice in a shower of sparks.

"Numbers aren't going to win unless you got something more to back you up!" Ghost yelled at the Badge Ganma.

"Oh, I have plenty of muscle to back me up!" the Badge Ganma grunted, reaching into its jacket, it produced several Ganma Eyecons, throwing them away to summon several Ganma Commandos.

"Crap," Ghost hissed.

 **(Oo\0/oO)**

Tatsuma and Shinjitsu flinched as one of the pillars suddenly exploded. Both men pulled back and Tatsuma realized that likely there was another Ganma in the vicinity, "Shinjitsu, did you get any more of those eye devices?"

"What?" Shinjitsu frowned. "All I got was some kind of empowerment ritual from the guy who bought the things I stole! He said it would give me powers and it did!"

Tatsuma grimaced, but reached into his jacket and produced what appeared to be a set of mechanical goggles with black rimmed eyepieces. He had them sent overnight from Hinata-Sou when he realized he could possibly dealing with invisible opponents. He then retrieved what looked like a red USB stick which had a snail emblem on it.

" **DENDEN!** "

He inserted the stick into the goggles which had the machine flip out of his hand and fold together, looking like a mechanical snail with a black shell. It let out a squeak before projecting red scanning beams over the area. Immediately, forms of black-cloaked men armed with swords, two Cuffs Ganma, and the Badge Ganma could be seen.

"What the-?!" Shinjitsu cried.

"So there _are_ more Ganma," Tatsuma frowned. "Shinjitsu, run and get backup!"

"Oh no! I'm not letting you face this alone!" the officer frowned, drawing his service pistol. "I forsook looking for allies once! Never again!"

To Tatsuma's shock, the man began to shine an emerald green.

 **(Oo\0/oO)**

Ghost stepped back as the red machine sent out the laser field, managing to avoid it as it passed over all of the Ganma. To his surprise, the two men suddenly reacted as if it could see the Ganma and their Commandos.

"Well, makes things easier," Ghost took another stance.

"Eh? Since when could humans see us?!" the Badge Ganma cried, realizing both humans were starting to take aim on them. However, it did notice Shinjitsu beginning to shine with green energy. "The human's gaining power! Quick, sacrifice him so we can claim Robin Hood!"

"What?!" Ghost cried, turning around to see the glowing man.

The Ganma Commandos moaned and charged for the two men, their swords raised. Tatsuma lifted his own blade and began parrying the attacks and smashing the kaijin away. Ghost quickly got in on the mix, cutting down his own share of the Commandos so to try and protect the police officers.

Shinjitsu fired off several shots, but his bullets phased right through the Ganma, striking whatever was behind them. A Commando got in close and swung at him with a moan. Luckily his police training kicked in and he leaped to the side, but he felt the blade catch near his shoulder, pulling something free from his neck. An old and battered shard of metal in the shape of an arrowhead clattered to the floor, glowing just as green and Shinjitsu was, possibly even more so.

Ghost cut down another Commando as a poof of smoke announced the ever-annoying Yurusen, "Hey! Pay attention Baka! A Legendary Soul is ready to appear! Do you want the Ganma to get it or not?"

"Huh?" Ghost looked up and Yurusen pointed to the arrowhead. "Oh dammit!"

Cutting down three more Commandos, Ghost dashed to the arrowhead and scooped it up. Stabbing the Gan Gun Saber into the concrete, he collected his reiatsu before drawing a familiar eye over the arrowhead.

The reaction was immediate as green smoke spewed from the arrowhead, causing it to vanish before shooting into the air. Emerging from the smoke came an emerald green Parka Ghost which had yellow rectangular edges at the bottom and on the shoulders. Green leather straps with yellow tips hung from the shoulders, acting as the Parka Ghost's arms. The hood was decorated with a yellow feather on the left side and green eyes shone from inside the shadows of the hood itself.

" _What ho!_ " the Parka Ghost called, hovering down to Ghost's side. " _Are you the lad who called me out just now?_ "

"Yeah," Ghost nodded. He glanced over and saw the three Ganma running towards the fight, aiming right for the Parka Ghost. "We don't have much time. These Ganma were trying to steal your power as a Legendary Soul and I need it to protect you and the living from them!"

" _Hmm,_ " the Parka Ghost nodded. Obviously he could tell that the situation wasn't one to make pleasantries. " _I see the urgency. Very well. I'll lend you my power, but I expect a more thorough explanation later!_ "

The Parka Ghost dove to Ghost, being drawn inside the GhostDriver. In a flash of green, Ghost caught the new Eyecon, this one sporting a green casing with the name Robin Hood marked on the top.

"I guess Sage called it right," Ghost huffed. "Looking to the three Ganma and their remaining Commandos, he clicked the Eyecon's switch, revealing a number 03. "Let's do this Robin Hood!"

" **EYE! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHRIMINNA! BATCHRIMINNA!** "

The Ore Parka Ghost vanished as Ghost removed its Eyecon. Inserting Robin Hood's, he shut the Driver before giving the switch a pull.

" **KAIGAN! ROBIN HOOD! HELLO! ARROW! MORI DE AOU!** "

The green Parka Ghost returned, doing a lap around Ghost before resting on his shoulders. His faceplate slid up, revealing a green bow and arrow pointing downwards to show the change was complete. The new Ghost then grabbed the Gan Gun Saber before it reconfigured itself into its gun form. It was good, but unlike in Edison Damashii, Ghost didn't feel comfortable with it. It was as if…

*TWEE!*

The Condor Denwor chose to reveal itself flying right to Ghost. Reaching the Rider among the chaos, it disassembled, letting the body attach over the barrel of the Gan Gun Saber while the wings spread out and reattached, looking more like handles. Last the head stuck to the body again with the neck and head pointed outwards like the tip of an arrow. Overall, it gave the appearance of a bow and arrow rather than a gun.

"Much better!" Ghost nodded, taking hold of his new weapon. Now if felt like something Robin Hood would use!

"Alright boys!" shouted the Badge Ganma. "It doesn't matter what fancy gadgets he's got! We've got more men than him! Kill him and take all of his Eyecons!"

The Commandos and the Cuff Ganmas gave battle cries before charging towards Ghost. The green-clad Kamen Rider glanced over his shoulder and spotted the two detectives getting ready to fight. Knowing he couldn't let any of the Ganma past him now, he aimed with the Gan Gun Saber. He quickly found the closest target and fired, launching a green energy arrow from the tip of his weapon which pierced the neck of a Commando in a splurt of sludge. Before the arrow had struck, Ghost had picked his next target and fired again.

In a flurry of movement and incredible accuracy, Ghost struck down the Ganma Commandos with incredible ease. Ganma Commandos weren't exactly the swiftest on the uptake so they didn't have the reaction time to dodge the arrows. The Cuffs Ganma both stumbled back as their meat shields were destroyed before they could even get close to their target.

"Don't just stand there you idiots! Do something!" the Badge Ganma barked, sticking way back as the two Cuffs Ganma began to panic.

The two Ganma nodded to their boss before they dashed in different directions, forcing Ghost to break his concentration. He spun around, trying to draw a bead on the two, but he was also distracted by the two detectives, both of them being easy targets even if they could see the two Ganma for the time being.

"Over here!"

"No! Over here!"

"Bah! You're too slow!"

"Oh come on! I'm wide open!"

"Dammit!" Ghost hissed as he tried to get a line of sight on one Cuffs Ganma only for the other to sound like it was closing in on the two detectives.

"No! Over here!" both of them cried at once before large shackles shot through the air from two different directions, clamping onto Ghost's legs. The Cuffs Ganma both landed, pulling the chains taunt to keep Ghost from going anywhere.

"Gah! Why you-!" Ghost began, lifting his weapon.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the Badge Ganma laughed, his swagger returned as he walked towards Ghost with his batons tapping on his shoulders. "Sure, you could get one of my boys or me, but it would leave you open for the other two. But I'm not heartless," the Badge Ganma stopped outside of Ghost's reach and with enough space to move should he fire an arrow. "Just hand over all of your Eyecons, and I'll let you and those two humans go. Deal?"

Ghost frowned. He knew this Ganma's type. They'd make a deal to sell their own mothers if it got them what they wanted, but then they'd go back on it once they got what they wanted. Unless Ghost took them all down, no one was going to be walking away except for the Ganma.

' _Boy, just trust in my power and my bow,_ ' Robin Hood's voice suddenly whispered into Ghost's ear.

Ghost frowned deeper, but he didn't have much choice.

"Well?" asked the Badge Ganma, holding out an empty hand expectantly. "What will it be?"

"Here's your answer!" Ghost snapped, bringing the Gan Gun Saber to his belt.

" **DAIKAIGAN!** **GAN GAN MINNA! GAN GAN MINNA!** "

The Badge Ganma stiffened the and two Cuffs Ganma likewise prepared to move, figuring Ghost could only fire at one of them. Ghost didn't move to shoot just yet as he reached to his Driver and gave the lever a pull."

" **DAIKAIGAN! ROBIN HOOD!** "

Ghost's entire body flashed green before two perfect copies of him appeared, each of them pointing their weapon at one of the Cuffs Ganma while the first Ghost took aim at the Badge Ganma.

"Give my regards to your boss!" Ghost snapped, pulling the trigger alongside his duplicates.

" **OMEGA DRIVE! OMEGA STRIKE!** "

Green energy arrows flew from each of the weapons, each one striking a surprised Ganma. All three let out screams of pain as their Parka Ghosts seemed to be ripped from their bodies by the arrows piercing through them. All three lit up with convulsing spiritual energy before exploding alongside their Parka Ghosts. From the remains dropped two pairs of handcuffs and a police badge. Three Ganma Eyecons likewise fell from the flames before shattering on the ground.

Ghost sighed as he lowered his weapon, his two clones vanishing, "Finally. Damn jerks made me work for this one."

 **(Oo\0/oO)**

Tatsuma and Shinjitsu were not entirely sure what had been going on. Tatsuma figured that the Denden Sensor had missed another invisible figure, one who had been fighting the Ganma the entire time. The way the Ganma were speaking and how the more mundane ones were being cut down as if by invisible projectiles hinted as much.

' _There is more to this than we know,_ ' Tatsuma thought to himself. Dismissing it for now, he helped Shinjitsu stand up, "Let's go. I think it's over now but I don't want to risk fate."

"Right," the ghost thief nodded. "Lead the way."

Tatsuma nodded and both men began heading out, "You know I'm going to arrest you, right?"

"Detective, like I said, I'm glad it was you," Shinjitsu grinned. "Just make sure Tarakudo doesn't suppress anything I say and I'll go quietly."

"I'll hold you to that," Tatsuma nodded.

As the two men headed away, they were unaware that they were being observed by more than just the invisible Ghost. Once more, Alain leaned on a concrete pillar with his arms cross, a frown of displeasure on his features. Next to him was the mysterious man who was nibbling on his lip slightly in nerves.

"I'm getting tired of this, Saionji," the young man frowned, looking to his underling. "That makes three operations you've bungled."

"Perhaps," the man, Saionji, admitted, "But it is three Eyecons we now know the location of. Three Eyecons we can pluck at our leisure. Not to mention we have already laid the groundwork in claiming two more with this operation."

"Which is why I am going to wait before I decide if you are worth keeping around," Alain stood up. "I have other agents collecting Eyecons you know. He has already gotten one of his own and has managed to keep it. Think about that."

His warning made, Alain walked away, leaving Saionji behind to look at the retreating Ghost with more than a little worry.

* * *

 **Karakura High School - 85 Days Remain**

"Hey guys, check this out!" Mizuiro reported, entering the classroom where his friends were hanging out. "They caught the ghost thief."

"I told you that already Mizuiro," Ichigo frowned. "I was there, remember?"

"Yeah, but you won't believe what else they got out of him!" Mizuiro insisted, bringing out a page of the local newspaper. Uryu plucked it up and adjusted his glasses to read it.

"The identity of the now infamous ghost thief has been revealed to be that of 34-year old Ryujin Shinjitsu, a police officer in the Karakura police force. When questioned why he broke the law he swore to protect, Shinjutsu revealed that...it was the only way to end the corruption which was rife in the department, headed by Commissioner Tarakudo?" Uryu blinked and looked up. "Is this correct?"

"Yeah. It's all over the new, internet, and papers!" Mizuiro nodded. "Turns out the commissioner for our area's been messing with cases which were connected to rich and influential people. If they got in trouble, he'd mess with something so they could get away with it and owe him a favor. That Tatsuma guy brought in a bunch of Internal Affairs guys from another precinct to prove it! Heck, the guy was even slipping some off the budget so he could buy nice things for himself."

"Explains the lack of cops for all the punks around here," Ichigo shrugged. "I guess that guy was telling the truth after all.

Uryu scanned over the page and saw another tidbit, "Pending the investigation into Commissioner Tarakudo and possibly more officers, Detective Tatsuma is being temporarily placed in charge of the Karakura Precinct to ensure its day to day operation."

Ichigo stopped and blinked. "Say what?"

"Right here in black and white," Uryu confirmed, handing over the paper to Ichigo. "It seems the one man who might be able to bust you is going to be in charge of the police. We'll have to be doubly careful lest we expose our secrets. Likely he will not be someone who will write off something strange as nonsense."

"He'll investigate it," Chad agreed. "He already knows the Ganma exist and he'll suspect Ghost as well."

"Perfect," Ichigo sighed, dropping the paper on his desk. "You just can't catch a break here."

 **To Be Continued…**

* * *

 _Next time on Kamen Rider Ghost Bleached_

 _Tatsuma: There is something going on in this town._

 _Ichigo: Ganma, police, Eyecons, now what?_

 _?: Don't disrespect the man who discovered physics!_

 _Tatsuma: So I was right. There is another…_

 _Rukia: What, you can see me?!_

 _ **RINGO GA RAKKA, HIKIYOSE MAKKA~!**_

 _ **Next Time: A Beautiful Mind!**_

 _?: Two down, thirteen to go._

* * *

 **A/N:** Yeah, adding Tatsuma to the cast is kind of a radical idea. I don't intend on him transforming into Accel too often. I intend him to be more of a side character as a detective rather than a Kamen Rider.

* * *

 **CHECK IT OUT! OMAKE CORNER!**

 **PARKA GHOST PARADE**

 **Robin Hood Damashii**

This form harnesses the power of the legendary outlaw, Robin Hood. While using this Legendary Soul's power, Ghost's base abilities are all enhanced, granting him somewhat better punching, kicking, jumping, and running abilities. What is truly powerful about this Damashii is Ghost's newfound accuracy, channeling the marksmanship of Robin Hood. With this ability, he can see an opening in a miniscule area and shoot an arrow through it with ease. As for a weapon, the Gan Gun Saber in gun form combines with the condor Denwor Ghost Gadget, allowing Ghost to comfortably wield the weapon in its Arrow Mode and use Robin Hood's abilities to their best. When he unleashes the finisher, either through his GhostDriver or in combination with the Gan Gun Saber, Ghost is able to create illusionary copies of himself symbolizing Robin Hood's Merry Men, to cast quite real attacks at enemies simultaneously.


End file.
